Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story
by Night-the-Dragon
Summary: Basically the whole story of KH3D, but from Shadow's POV. I have both sides of the story, but this is just Shadow's. Remember, I own nothing of this except for Shadow & Kurai. Credit for the game script goes to DJ Firewolf on gamefaqs. Sorry, no pairings.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is pretty much KH3D from my dragons' POVs, but I'll have two stories. This one is Shadow's, the other one will be Kurai's. Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai. Credit for the game script goes to DJ Firewolf on gamefaqs.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 1

Sora, Riku, Kurai, and I stared out at the sea, watching the ocean. As Kurai and I perched on our respective partner's shoulders, Sora spoke up.

"But how far could a raft take us?" he wondered aloud.

"Who knows? If we have to, we'll think of something else," Riku replied. Later on, as we sailed along dark waters on the raft, Sora spoke again.

"Riku, a storm's coming," he warned his friend. The brunette kneeled and looked at the water.

"I know," the silverette nodded. "The waves are getting steep. Furl the sail."

"Right," I said, and was about to when something big shot out of the water, ripping the mast clean off of our raft. Sora and I ducked in time, but when we looked up again, Riku and Kurai were in the water, clinging to the mast for dear life.

"Riku!" Sora cried out.

"Kurai!" I shouted.

"We're fine!" they called back. Suddenly, the waters began to churn violently, and a familiar figure rose from the ocean's depths.

"What's that?" Riku wondered aloud.

"Oh, he was right. Those wretched guppies are here. Well, it's about time we settled the score," Ursula grinned evilly.

"Ursula?" Sora gasped as I growled beside him. "But how—is this the test?"

"Come on! You can work it out later!" the silverette reminded him.

"All right!" I yelled back. Ursula suddenly noticed Riku and Kurai standing on top of the floating mast.

"Sorry, dearies, but I won't fall for that trick!" she said, and slammed a tentacle onto the mast, giving our friends a chance to jump back onto the raft. "You dare toy with me? You insignificant fools! To the depths with you!" She then proceeded to blow large bubbles at us, but we all four swiftly dodged the rapid onslaught.

"Time for my revenge!" Ursula crowed as we dodged. She summoned lightning bolts, but we escaped unscathed. When Sora and I lunged at her to attack, however, she snatched us up in her hand. "There, I have you now!"

Riku and Kurai came to our rescue, attacking Ursula and making her release us with a cry of pain. Once we defeated her, she faded away eerily, and the waves became even rougher. As the raft was tossed about, the four of us were thrown into the water by the choppy waves. The storm raged above, thunder and lightning sounding and flashing above us as we sank into the depths of the ocean.

Suddenly, a keyhole appeared whilst we sank, and Sora's and Riku's Keyblades appeared into their hands, causing Kurai's and my claws to glow in response. As if they had a mind of their own, the Keyblades and our claws pointed at the keyhole and we each fired a beam of light at it, the light engulfing everything.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Master Yen Sid had summoned us to his tower, and behind him stood Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"As a Keyblade Master, Xehanort had a gift like few others," Yen Sid began. "But such great minds are often plagued by a single great question. What is the essence of the heart that weakens us, or empowers us? The answer, he believed, would be found in the 'Keyblade War'. What if the challenges of our past were, in fact, a map to the light and darkness that battles within us all? Xehanort had to know, so he renounced his duties as master and chose the seeker's life. Since then, in many a guise, he has clashed with protectors of the light—Keyblade and light wielders like yourselves. And mark my words—he will trouble us yet again. We must be ready. Which is why you, Sora, Shadow, Riku, and Kurai, are to be tested for the marks of true Keyblade and light masters. No doubt you fancy yourselves masters already, but it takes years of training. Only a true master can teach you the proper ways. Both of you, Sora and Riku, are self-taught Keyblade wielders—an impressive feat. However, the time has come for you to let go of preconceived notions, forget what you know about the Keyblade, and begin your training again with a clean slate."

"Huh?!" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey all said in unison. I watched Yen Sid curiously, wondering what he meant.

"But that's a formality, right?" the brunette asked. "Shadow and I already proved ourselves. Us and the king, and Riku and Kurai—we can take on anything. Right, Riku and Kurai?"

"I don't know," Riku answered honestly, Kurai lowering his head as the silverette summoned his Keyblade. "I think that in our hearts, darkness still has a hold." He dispelled his Keyblade.

"Walking that path changed us," Kurai added. "We're not sure if we're ready to wield the Keyblade and light. Maybe we do need to be tested."

"Riku…" Sora murmured.

"Kurai…" I growled softly. We turned back to Yen Sid.

"Then count us in," Sora and I told him firmly. "Put us through the test! Just watch—us, Riku, and Kurai will pass with flying colors!" Sora folded his hands behind his head, feeling confident. I noticed Donald, Goofy, and Mickey exchange glances, and I felt curious as to what they were thinking.

"Very well, then," Yen Sid nodded. "Sora, Shadow, Riku, and Kurai, let your examination begin."

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Sora and I awoke later on, feeling a great sense of nostalgia as we looked around. I realized there was a mark to my usually black armor, and it consisted of a large, white "X" on my chest.

"Huh? This is…Traverse Town," Sora remarked as he looked about. He looked down at the same time I did, and I noticed his clothes were different, too. "Hey, what's with my clothes? Must be more of Master Yen Sid's magic."

He checked out his outfit, the red and black fabric, and the white straps crossing his chest. After tapping his foot against the ledge floor, he looked up quickly.

"What happened to Riku?" he wondered aloud.

"And Kurai!" I added with a slight glare. Sora jumped onto the railing of the ledge, and I joined him.

"Riku, Kurai! Hellooo? Rikuuu! Kurai!" we shouted.

"Shut it," a voice said out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Sora said as I looked up where the voice had come from.

"Talk about noise…" the voice grumbled. Suddenly, a boy in purple dropped down, hanging off the roof above us. Startled, Sora dropped to the ground below as I jumped and landed daintily next to him. The brunette picked himself up off the ground as the purple-clad boy with strikingly contrasting orange hair dropped down and landed neatly in front of us. I noted the large purple headphones he wore, and realized he liked to block the world out with music.

"Sora and Shadow, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, but, uh…how do you know that?" I asked, watching him curiously. The ginger grabbed Sora's hand and turned it over, his palm up.

"Looks like you're not Players," he commented.

"A Player?" Sora questioned.

"C'mon, keep up. In the Game," the ginger explained. He showed us his own palm, which had the numbers "43:09" in red-lit numbers on it, slowly ticking down in seconds. "Players get marked with the time limit. And this game, I can't afford to lose. I need my Game partner."

"Okay…I don't know about any 'Game', but can we help?" Sora offered.

"What?" the boy said, surprised. "Time out. Do you trust every total stranger you meet? Look—sorry, you're no good. You're not Players. And my pact's with someone else."

"Okay, so we can't be partners. Why don't we just help you out as your friends?" I suggested, shrugging one shoulder. The boy turned away from us.

"Now we're friends? It's not that easy," he grumbled.

"Not saying it is, but…you could make it easier," Sora pointed out as I nodded.

"Yeah, sounds great. Whatever," the ginger muttered.

"Cool! Lead the way," Sora told him, and we were surprised when the boy jumped to a lamppost, swinging around it. He then leapt from the lamppost to a railing and slid up it, making a huge leap into the air and landing near the back of the accessory shop. Sora gave a small laugh and we followed the boy to the Second District.

"Hey, we didn't catch your name," I told the boy once we caught up to him. Suddenly, several dog-like creatures appeared around us.

"Dream Eaters!" he cried out, dodging as one tried to attack him.

"That's a weird name," Sora said, and I smacked my forehead and groaned.

"Not me. Them," the boy replied, sounding irritated. He pointed at the creatures and the same one that tried to attack him made to attack again.

"Right. I knew that!" the brunette said. The ginger jumped back and a cat-like creature appeared and attacked one of the enemies. It then took off down an alleyway, leading the one it attacked after it.

"Don't let 'em surround us! Let's split up!" the boy yelled.

"Got it!" Sora nodded, and I growled as he whipped out his Keyblade, my claws glowing in response.

"Oh uh, and…it's Neku," the boy suddenly said.

"Huh?" the brunette asked, confused.

"Neku Sakuraba. You asked," Neku said.

"'Neku Sakuraba'. That's a mouthful!" Sora grinned.

"No. It's really not," Neku muttered, rolling his eyes. Sora and I laughed.

"C'mon, Neku. Let's take 'em!" I growled, and we fought the enemies. Sora and I proceeded to take out all of the enemies, and when we finished, the brunette and I took a closer look at Neku's cat-like companion. It gave a small meow and pranced about happily.

"These things with you—they're Dream Eaters, too?" Sora asked the ginger as he watched us.

"Yeah. If I'm gonna survive the Game, I'm gonna need some extra help," Neku told us. "Think you could control them?"

"Sure, I guess…" Sora answered a little uncertainly. We remembered Master Yen Sid telling us about Spirits, which were the good Dream Eaters, and how they would help us fight the nightmares, the bad Dream Eaters. When we snapped out of it, Neku helped us to create a Spirit called Meow Wow. Once we created the little guy, he pawed the air cutely, emitting a noise that sounded like a cross between a meow and a bark. My normally sharp gaze softened at the sight of the Spirit; it was pretty cute.

Neku took off, going on ahead, while Sora and I looked about this version of Traverse Town, fighting Dream Eaters and gaining items as we adjusted to the new aspect of Flowmotion. It was a cool concept, Sora being able to jump wall-to-wall, swing on columns, and dish out powerful attacks in or from midair. I was already capable of doing such things, but that was cool that Sora could now.

We finished clearing out the Dream Eaters in the Second District, and then moved on to the Third District, where we caught up with Neku. The ginger gazed up as we joined him.

"I brought you Sora and Shadow! We had a bargain!" Neku yelled in the direction he was looking.

"What's the matter, Neku?" Sora questioned curiously. Suddenly, a figure in a black cloak appeared at the ledge where Neku was watching and looked down at the three of us. I bristled furiously and snapped my jaws. "No way!" the brunette gasped. He readied his Keyblade, making my claws glow, and the figure leaped into the air to attack.

"Hey! That wasn't the deal! You said you wouldn't hurt them!" Neku shouted angrily, and leapt into the air as well to try and stop the figure.

"Don't! Neku! They're too dangerous!" I cried out, but out of nowhere, as we were about to move to help, both Sora and I were overcome with a mysterious sleepiness.

"What? Why are we so…sleepy?" we mumbled, and, as our balance faltered, blacked out.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Sora and I woke in Traverse Town again with a jolt.

"Where is he?" Sora wondered, and I automatically knew he meant Neku. The brunette looked about for the ginger, but no one was around but us.

"They're both gone," I muttered.

"Before we fell asleep, Neku said that he and that creep in the coat had a 'deal'," Sora remembered. "But what was the deal? Are the two of them in league? That can't be right…We never even found Neku's partner. I guess we should just take a look around." I nodded in agreement, and we made our way back to the First District.

We fought our way past the Dream Eaters, thanks to some help from Meow Wow, and when we arrived in the First District again, we discovered a hidden entrance to the Post Office under the tall mailbox in the square. Through there, Sora and I travelled to the Fourth District.

"Wow! Never been this way before!" Sora said in awe as we walked along. Spotting a large stadium with balloons, I tilted my head to the side, perplexed, as Sora gasped, "Ooh! What's that?" We noticed a young girl talking with a Moogle, and made our way over to her.

"Hey, um…any chance you're Neku's partner?" I asked as we approached.

"Huh?" she said, turning to look at us. "Umm…I'm not really sure. All I know is that my name is Rhyme."

"You mean…You've lost your memory?" Sora guessed, and I rolled my eyes.

"Yep."

"Oh, sorry…" Sora apologized.

"Aw, it's no big deal," Rhyme shrugged. "You know what they always say—'Sometimes memories just need a little help getting out.'"

"Yeah…that's true," I agreed. "Huh, a 'little help'…I know! Maybe Neku can jog your memory! Come on, Rhyme! Let's go find him!"

"Right!" Rhyme nodded, and followed us into the Fifth District. The place was a multi-level garden, and it was very pleasant. Sora and I looked up to see Neku standing on the roof, so we climbed up to reach his level.

"Hey, Neku! It's you!" Sora greeted as we approached.

"Sora, Shadow…" Neku murmured. "What, you actually still trust me?"

"Of course we do," I smiled.

"But you know that I tricked you guys, right?" he said, lowering his head slightly in shame. "That guy in the black coat, he said he could send me home—me and my partner—but I had to bring you guys to him first. Sorry." His head lowered a bit more.

"No big deal," I shrugged.

"When it really mattered, you stood up for us," Sora agreed. "And besides—we're friends. Right?"

"Friends…" Neku repeated softly, and then looked at us with a smile. Sora and I smiled back.

"Oh, hey, Neku—this here is Rhyme. Is she your game partner?" Sora asked, indicating the small girl next to him.

"No. Sorry. I'm teamed up with somebody else," Neku answered. Suddenly, Rhyme vanished, and I looked about for the small girl, bewildered. "Huh?"

"What? Rhyme!" Sora shouted, and I bristled as the cloaked figure from before appeared in the center of the rooftop. Sora summoned his Keyblade and I flared my wings as Neku charged at the man. Unfortunately, Neku was knocked away with ease.

"Neku!" I cried out. The man raised his arms into the air, summoning a large Dream Eater which floated above us in the air. A corridor of darkness appeared behind the man, and he started to walk into it.

"Huh? Hey, wait!" Sora yelled, but as we started to run after him, the Dream Eater landed in front of us, pounding its chest furiously. We watched helplessly as the corridor closed.

"Out of our way!" I snarled at the Dream Eater, and we began to fight against the Nightmare. We used the Flowmotion attacks to our advantage, as well as the Reality Shift called Slingshot for this world. We even managed to shoot off some fireballs and blizzard magic to help us defeat it. When we finished it off, the giant Dream Eater disappeared into nothing.

Sora, Neku, and I were on the ground level again when we spotted an image of Riku, Kurai, and a girl walking past.

"Riku!" Sora gasped, and started to run towards him.

"Kurai!" I yelped happily, and made to move as well, but then an unfamiliar voice stopped us.

"Hold on, Sora and Shadow," the voice said. A Portal appeared behind Sora and me as we watched the image of Riku run after the girl towards the staircase. A slighter, silver-haired boy appeared before Sora, Neku, and me.

"Joshua," Neku greeted as he joined us.

"Hello, Neku. How long the days without you have felt," the boy, obviously Joshua, replied as Rhyme reappeared beside him.

"Rhyme! I'm glad you're okay," Sora said in relief, and she smiled in return.

"Neku, do you know this guy?" I asked the ginger.

"Yeah. Joshua. He's my…friend," Neku answered.

"Okay…Are you the one who took Rhyme away?" Sora asked.

"And…why do you know our names?" I added.

"If you'd like to settle down for a sec, I'll field your questions one at a time," Joshua answered. "Let's start with Rhyme. I'm hanging on to her dreams for her. They're my Portal." Sora crossed his arms, looking puzzled, while I sighed and rolled my eyes. I understood perfectly. "Let's just say, her dreams are a gateway between worlds. Next question—how could I possibly know your names—right? This town has a little secret. It only appears when someone out there has need of shelter. I'll spare you both the details, but right now it's made up of my dreams. So of course I know you—I dreamed you both up. I know your best friends Riku and Kurai, too."

"Really? You know Riku and Kurai?" Sora and I yelped.

"Well, yeah. I'm kind of omniscient," Joshua shrugged.

"Then, where are they?" I demanded eagerly. Joshua turned towards the staircase, where we saw Riku's and Kurai's images.

"He's right inside this projection, in another imagining of this world," the silver-haired boy answered.

"You mean…another Traverse Town?" Sora guessed. "Can we get there with your Portal thing?"

"Sade to say, it won't work for you," he replied. "My 'Portal thing' only opens for the ones with Rhyme's dreams. In this projection, you're seeing another chain of events, in another world trapped by the Dream Eaters. As for how the world got split in two…I have a feeling you'll need to ask this guy."

Sora and I watched the cloaked figure walk down the stairs in pursuit of Riku and Kurai.

"Him again," I muttered, displeased. Neku and Rhyme sensed something behind them, and, looking, saw the images of a blonde boy with a skull hat and a pink-haired girl with a cat doll in her arms. The blonde boy was shouting something that I couldn't quite decipher.

"Who's…that?" Sora wondered aloud. As he spoke, however, the image's form flickered and vanished. When the images rejoined us, though, we watched them curiously.

"Beat…" Rhyme murmured.

"Shiki…" Neku sighed.

"Riku…" Sora mumbled.

"Kurai…" I whimpered quietly. With a flash, Joshua stood in front of us, Riku and Kurai in their version of Traverse Town, and Sora and me in ours.

"In their world, something happened that brought their existence to an end," Joshua began. "To keep them from fading altogether, I gathered up the very last remnant of their dreams and looked for a place to give them refuge. It was then this world appeared to answer my call, and Rhyme's dreams allowed us to reach it. Here, I thought they might have a chance—that the pieces of their dreams could make them whole again. Imagine my surprise when I realized dreams take bodily form in this world. It struck me—by linking their dream pieces back together, maybe I could make them exist again. Maybe I could give them another chance."

"It can't be that simple," Riku said.

"Well, why can't it?" Joshua replied smoothly. "By ourselves, we're no one. It's when other people look at us and see someone—that's the moment we each start to exist. All they needed was for someone to see them, connect with them. And the four of you were a big part of making it happen."

"Joshua, just…who are you?" the four of us questioned at once.

"Let's say…a friend," the slighter boy smiled, and suddenly, angel wings sprouted from his back, making Kurai and me jump, startled. Joshua took off into the air, leaving us behind, and a Keyhole appeared in the air before us. Nodding to each other, we all sealed the Keyhole together.

A/N: Awesome, first chapter is up! R&R, peeps!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Now, I'm going world by world, just like I did with the other ones, just so you know. I hope you like this so far! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai. Refer to the first disclaimer if you want to know where I got the game script.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 2

Sora and I woke up in an old-fashioned-looking town with a huge bell tower. We made our way to the bell tower, but as we walked into the square, a man in a long black robe with a red sash hanging from his triangular hat paused as he walked past us, staring at us intently. I felt the eerie vibe from his stare, and I shivered.

"Stop," the man barked, and Sora paused.

"What? Who, us?" the brunette asked, confused. The man walked closer to us, examining Sora's clothes.

"I've never seen you before, or a creature such as that," he remarked, and I bristled angrily at the comment. "Your names?"

"I'm Sora, and this is Shadow," Sora told him when I remained silent.

"Such disgusting attire," the man spat. "I know what you are."

"Judge Frollo. Sir!" a man clad in gold armor shouted, running over to us. I rolled my eyes at the armor; it was nothing against Denkou's brilliant topaz armor.

"What is the matter, Captain Phoebus?" the man, obviously Frollo, demanded irritably. "Can't you see…I am interrogating these gypsies?"

"This kid and lizard here? But sir, he's just a boy with a lizard," the captain said, and I immediately snarled.

"I shall be the judge of that," Frollo sniffed. Phoebus looked hesitant to speak. "Now, Captain, did you have something to report to me or did you not?"

"Yes sir. Monsters—they've invaded the square!" the captain informed him.

"Monsters? We'll take care of it!" Sora declared, and the two of us ran off, the brunette summoning his Keyblade as we ran. I needed to destroy something anyway, just to burn off the anger I currently felt.

"Hey, wait! It's not safe!" Phoebus cried out after us, and followed. Sora and I ran into the cathedral square, where a festival was apparently taking place. There was a man with a hunchback in a king's robe and false crown sitting atop a Zolephant Dream Eater, waving at the crowd around him. Several other Dream Eaters flew about as the crowd cheered.

"I knew it was the Dream Eaters!" Sora said as we saw them. Upon noticing the man atop the Zolephant, however, we paused.

"What are you doing? You need to run!" I warned him.

"Oh no, I couldn't. Today's the festival. And look, I'm the King of Fools!" the man told us with a smile. A Komory Bat flew over to Captain Phoebus as he entered, who swatted it down with his sword while Frollo walked into the square. Upon noticing the man on the Zolephant's back, however, he scowled.

"Quasimodo!" Frollo snapped. The man atop the Zolephant gazed at Frollo in terror.

"It's my master," he whimpered, and I noticed the Zolephant's eyes light up when it detected Quasimodo's distress. Rearing up, it trumpeted loudly, knocking Quasimodo off its back. The man got to his feet and was surrounded by Nightmares. They began to go berserk as his fear grew. "No! Oh please, stop! Why doesn't anything ever go the way I want it to?" Sora and I ran over, the brunette's Keyblade ready to fight and my claws glowing in response.

"Get to safety!" I ordered.

"Let me help," a woman's voice said, and a dark-haired woman in a violet dress walked over to us.

"Huh? Who are you?" Sora asked her.

"I'm Esmeralda. I'm a gypsy," she answered.

"Thank you. This is Sora, and I'm Shadow," I smiled. Esmeralda held her hand out to the dejected Quasimodo, who accepted the helping hand with a smile of his own. They quickly ran towards the cathedral doors while Sora and I returned our focus to the matter at hand.

"Okay, now you've got our attention," Sora and I growled, and we quickly fought off the Dream Eaters. When we finished, the brunette and I looked at each other. "I wonder if that guy is all right. Quasi…what was it?"

"Let's go find out," I suggested, and we walked into the cathedral. As we walked inside the bell tower, we passed three gargoyles that remained motionless as we entered. We saw Quasimodo introducing Esmeralda to the large bells in the bell tower rafters.

"This is Big Marie," he told her.

"Hello-o-o!" Esmeralda called, touching the bell's clapper.

"She likes you," Quasimodo smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Looks like Quasi's gonna be just fine," Sora remarked with a small grin. I heard a small grinding sound, and heard a voice speak up.

"Indisputably," the voice said. Another grinding sound and another voice.

"He's tough," the second voice agreed. Yet another grinding noise and voice.

"We may be hard as stone, but Quasi's stronger," the third voice said.

"I know…" Sora nodded as we turned, and saw the three gargoyles had come to life and were speaking to us. Sora jumped, shocked. "WHOA! Talking gargoyles?"

"Excuse us for havin' personality!" the third one huffed. Esmeralda started to leave, walking past a table with a model of the city on it.

"You could stay here forever, you know," Quasi told her.

"No, I couldn't," she sighed.

"Oh, yes. You have sanctuary," he assured her.

"But not freedom. Gypsies don't do so well inside stone walls," she murmured. Quasimodo's expression became determined.

"You helped me. Now, I will help you," he promised.

"But there's no way out," Esmeralda argued. "There's soldiers at every door." Looking at the model of the cathedral, Quasi seemed to think of something.

"We won't use a door," he said simply, walking over to her. "It's all right. Are you ready?" Taking her in his arms, he leapt out the window onto the parapet, where he jumped down and swung his way out of the cathedral.

"Didn't expect that," I commented. Turning back to the gargoyles, I asked, "So how come you and Quasimodo are so close?"

"We've been friends for years," the third one, named Laverne, told us.

"More than a decade of camaraderie," the first one, named Victor, added.

"Breakfast, lunch, and dinner!" the second one, named Hugo, chimed in.

"He never leaves?" Sora gasped, and I shivered at the thought of being trapped like that.

"Oh, he's not allowed to leave," Laverne said. "Judge Frollo forbids it."

"Why?" I asked, bewildered by Frollo's ruling.

"Care to pull up a stool?" Victor offered. We sat down.

"The short version is, Frollo thinks he's doing a Quasi a favor by keeping folks from seeing that mug of his," Hugo explained.

"After a lifetime of watching from the nosebleed seats, Quasi just wanted to go to the Feast of Fools," Laverne added softly. "And we're so proud of him for working up the courage to do it."

"'Tis a shame those creatures dashed his hopes," Victor sighed.

"You should talk. When's the last time you looked in a mirror?" Hugo taunted.

"Well, you broke it!" Victor retorted, and they moved closer aggressively.

"Oh, a wise guy, eh?" Hugo growled.

"Knock it off! Ya couple of blockheads!" Laverne snapped at them, and she knocked the two away. "I just hope this one failure doesn't cause Quasi to give up. He was so close."

"He can't let his heart be a prison," I said, shuffling my wings on my back slightly. Sora and I ran to the entrance.

"Don't worry, we'll go talk to him!" Sora promised, and we left. As we walked into the town, we passed Phoebus.

"Oh. Hello again," he greeted. "Sora and Shadow, was it?" We stopped and turned towards him, noticing he was no longer clad in his armor.

"Hold it. You're that guy with Frollo," I said icily.

"Easy. I'm not looking for any sort of fight," he assured us, and Sora lowered his defensiveness. "Finally someone sensible. I'm Phoebus. Tell me, is she still safe in the cathedral?"

"If 'she' is Esmeralda, then Quasimodo helped her escape," Sora told him.

"Blast," Phoebus growled.

"What's wrong?" the brunette asked. Phoebus looked up at the bell tower.

"It's Judge Frollo," he explained. "He's obsessed with destroying the gypsies, and his mind is in a dark place. When I objected to his barbarous actions, he banished me from the guard."

"What? That's not fair," Sora grumbled.

"Don't worry about me," Phoebus said. "Frollo said he's found the 'Court of Miracles'—the gypsies haven within the city. Esmeralda and her friends are in danger. We have to find them and warn them before Frollo gets there." Suddenly, there was the sound of something dropping, and we looked at the source to find Quasimodo.

"Quasimodo, Esmeralda's in trouble!" Sora told him urgently.

"Where did she go?" Phoebus demanded.

"I don't know. She…she vanished into the streets," he mumbled sadly. Looking down at the necklace, he picked it up. "She…gave me this pendant. Esmeralda said this would help me find her." Thinking on it, he murmured, "'When you wear this woven band, you hold the city in your hand.'" He suddenly gasped in realization, and held up the necklace to show us. "It's the city! It's a map, see? Here's the cathedral and the river. Go this way, cross the bridge and—the Court of Miracles!" Phoebus patted Quasimodo's back.

"Well done, Quasimodo!" he praised.

"Yeah, Quasi, nice!" Sora cheered.

"Yes, I'm going to save her," Quasimodo said confidently. We made our way through the graveyard and underground tunnels until we reached the Court of Miracles, where we found Esmeralda standing in the center.

"Quasimodo? What are you doing here?" she asked worriedly.

"Phoebus and I came to warn you," he explained. "Frollo's on his way!"

"Take what you can and flee!" Phoebus added. Suddenly, we were surrounded by Nightmares.

"Well done, Captain Phoebus," Frollo said as he walked in. "Thankfully, you are every bit as predictable as I had hoped." Phoebus growled in response. "Dear Quasimodo. I always knew you would someday be of use to me." Quasimodo looked to the ground, defeated, as Frollo approached Esmeralda and leaned in closely, making her back away. "I have you at last, you witch."

He ran behind her and grabbed her wrist, placing his other hand on her shoulder, his face close to her neck. She struggled, but couldn't rid herself of the man.

"There'll be a bonfire in the square," Frollo stated, and then began to lead Esmeralda away.

"No. Please, Master!" Quasimodo begged. Frollo merely looked down at him with contempt.

"Frollo, we won't let you do this!" I snarled, and we started to charge at him, but suddenly, darkness surrounded Frollo, stopping us. We felt a presence behind us, but when we turned, both of us were immediately knocked to the ground by a powerful Dream Eater. When we came to, Sora opened his eyes slowly as I sat up, groaning and clutching my head.

"No!" Sora gasped, sitting up quickly. Looking around, we realized the Court of Miracles was deserted.

"Quasimodo! Esmeralda! Phoebus!" I shouted, but there was no answer. I lowered my head sadly.

"He's taking her to a bonfire in the square…We gotta hurry!" Sora told me, and I nodded with a growl. We ran to the cathedral square, where we saw a wooden platform where Esmeralda was tied to a large stake. The fire burned around her, forming a red haze in the area.

"Esmeralda!" I yelled as we ran to the platform. Quasimodo stood on Notre Dame, looking down, and then descended along a long rope. He ran along the cathedral exterior and swung to the platform, where he rapidly began to untie her.

"Way to go, Quasi!" Sora crowed. When Quasimodo finished, he grabbed the rope again and swung back up onto the cathedral, walking up the side of the church. Once he reached the parapet in front of a large window, he raised Esmeralda into the air.

"Sanctuary!" he cried out fiercely. Frollo, from where he stood, scowled furiously and started running towards the cathedral. Sora and I began to follow him, but paused when stone started to fall down from above. Looking up, we immediately scrambled away as a Wargoyle crashed down onto the wooden platform. Sora readied his Keyblade, the Nightmare growling at us as we prepared for combat.

Sora and I fought with help from Meow Wow, and quickly defeated the Wargoyle. Afterwards, we met up with the other three in the nave of the church. Sora and I walked over with the three gargoyles to see Quasimodo happily watching Esmeralda and Phoebus hold hands.

"Quasimodo. You can't let your heart be a—" Sora started to say, but was interrupted.

"I know," he said. "I can't blame Frollo for putting walls around me. It wasn't the walls that were holding me back." We all nodded and Quasimodo walked towards the entrance. "But my heart is free now. I'm ready to see what's really out there."

Later on, Sora and I were standing alone near the altar, looking at a statue.

"All that time, Quasimodo let himself be trapped inside the nightmares Frollo gave him," I murmured. We started to walk towards the beam of light shining in from the stained glass window, but stopped when I bristled at the sight of a figure walking towards us.

"Hypocrite," the young man from Traverse Town said. "You are the ones who have made your hearts prisons…"

"You again," I growled. "What are you talking about?" For a split second, though, something stirred in our hearts, and we saw in the young man's place a boy with black hair similar to Sora's and a dragon similar to me standing before us.

"Even if you are not the prisoners," he said, and the image faded.

"Huh?" we uttered, completely bewildered. The young man disappeared through a dark corridor, and a Keyhole appeared in the stained glass. After sealing the Keyhole with Sora's Keyblade and my light, we looked at each other curiously. "Our hearts…are prisons?" We closed our eyes, letting the light wash over us.

A/N: And there's that chapter! R&R, peeps!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: And now, for the next chapter! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 3

The next world Sora and I arrived in started off in an amusement park. The brunette gazed at our surroundings in awe, his blue eyes wide with amazement. I smiled slightly at his gleeful expression.

"Wow!" Sora exclaimed. I looked around as well, studying this world. There was a brightly lit Ferris wheel and carousel in front of a tall rollercoaster, while a talking clown face hung on the archway above the entrance.

"That Pinocchio—he must have his poor father worried sick," a familiar voice muttered. Sora looked about for the source, whereas I had already located it. "Still, that little fella's some miracle. Imagine…Mr. Geppetto's wooden puppet, brought to life by the Blue Fairy." Sora looked to where I had pinpointed the source, and we saw a familiar insect with a top hat on his head and umbrella in his lap. "She made his wish for a son come true because he's given so much happiness to others. Now Pinocchio needs me to guide him and be his conscience, so maybe one day, he can be a real—" He paused, laughing to himself. "Well, now, let's not get ahead of ourselves, Jiminy." The cricket stood up, dusting himself off, and Sora and I ran over. "First, you gotta find Pinoke."

"Hey, Jiminy! What's up?" Sora greeted as Jiminy hopped around to look at us.

"Hmm? Who are you?" he asked. "You shouldn't be here, young man." I rolled my eyes at the fact that he completely didn't notice me. I shifted on Sora's shoulder, catching his attention.

"What? Are you okay, Jiminy?" Sora questioned, confused. I tilted my head to the side, puzzled as well.

"Huh? You mean you've heard of me? Well, I'll be," Jiminy said, puffing out his chest a bit. "The name Jiminy Cricket's already spread far and wide."

"Really, you feeling all right? It's us, Sora and Shadow!" Sora persisted.

"Sora and Shadow, you say? Gosh, I don't think I recognize ya, but the names do have a familiar ring," the cricket murmured.

"Umm…Oh, yeah!" Sora said, remembering something Master Yen Sid had told us back at the tower.

X*X(Flashback)X*X

"In the Sleeping Worlds, real time does not flow," Master Yen Sid told us. "Unless one restores the world by waking it from its slumber, it will stay locked in a dream forever. Thus, you may encounter familiar faces…but they are just figments of the dream. In actuality, they are sound asleep—trapped within a world that is also sleeping. What's more, whilst someone may no longer dwell in the real version of a world, dreams may paint a fuller picture, and restore what seems to be missing."

X*X(End Flashback)X*X

"The real Jiminy Cricket wasn't trapped in this world, so maybe…it's like the dream world's putting him back where he belongs," I murmured to Sora in a soft voice.

"What's that? I can't hear ya," Jiminy said.

"Right…It's very nice to meet you, Jiminy," Sora nodded.

"Well, sure. The feeling's mutual, Sora and Shadow," the cricket chuckled.

"Oh yeah. So how come you said we need to get out of here?" I asked.

"You can't fool me. You still think we know each other," Jiminy said pointedly. I gave a sheepish look in response. "And you've just about got me thinkin' it, too. Hmm, but where was I? Oh, yes, this is a terrible place! Boys here are allowed to wreck things and loaf around and make jackamules of themselves! And poor, lost Pinocchio, he wandered in here on my watch." Gasping, he yelped, "That's right! That's where I musta heard your names, Sora and Shadow—from my friend Pinoke!"

"He knows us? But how?" Sora wondered, furrowing his brows in confusion. Jiminy explained to us about how Pinocchio had mentioned a man in black speaking with him, and how the man had mentioned us to him.

"That guy again," I growled.

"Forget him! If I don't find Pinoke, he'll turn into a donkey like the rest of the boys!" Jiminy wailed.

"Right. Then let us help you find him, Jiminy," Sora offered.

"Really? I'd be grateful. But how in the world do you know Pinocchio?" the cricket asked curiously.

"Oh, um…" Sora trailed off, unable to be honest.

"Hey! Over there, I see him!" I cried out suddenly, pointing in the direction of the wooden boy. Luckily, I had spotted him running around near a giant 8-ball ride.

"Gosh! That is Pinoke!" Jiminy yelped.

"All aboard, Jiminy," Sora smiled at him.

"Take it away!" the cricket laughed, jumping on the brunette's other shoulder where I wasn't already perched. We soon caught up to him, but I noticed he looked off. Maybe it was the outfit? Normally it was red and yellow, right? But his outfit this time was purple and green. Huh…

"Pinocchio!" Jiminy shouted when we got close.

"Pinocchio, it's not safe for you here," Sora said. "Listen to Jiminy and go back to—" Suddenly, Pinocchio turned into a Dream Eater called a Jestabocky.

"Oh my!" Jiminy gasped.

"Dream Eaters!" I growled as several more surrounded us. "Only one way to solve this problem." Sora and I fought off the Nightmares easily.

"Those Dream Eaters were pretending to be Pinocchio," Sora remarked when it calmed down. "So, then where's the real Pinoke?"

"Sora, Shadow! Up there! Look at the top of that tower!" Jiminy cried out, and we looked to where he was pointing to see Pinocchio at the top of said tower.

"You're right," Sora nodded. "Come on, Jiminy!" We ran off to the rollercoaster to get better access, and Sora used his Flowmotion technique to slide along the rail until we got close enough to leap off onto the tower.

"Gee, Pinoke, how'd you manage to get up here?" Jiminy asked the wooden boy.

"C'mon, let's go home," I chimed in, but then he turned into another Jestabocky, which stuck its tongue out at us before disappearing.

"Another imposter," the cricket sighed. Sora and I searched about from the vantage point of the tower before I pointed to where I had spotted Pinocchio.

"There! See him walking?" Sora told Jiminy.

"Well, sure, if that's really him," he muttered.

"Don't give up, Jiminy! Come on, let's go!" I said optimistically. We eventually followed a long trail through circus tents and found Pinocchio standing a good height above a large trampoline, surrounded by Komory Bats.

"Pinocchio!" the three of us cried out.

"Jiminy! Help me, Jiminy!" Pinocchio wailed from where he was trapped.

"Oh my stars above! We've gotta do something!" Jiminy yelped, panicked.

"Okay, we've got it covered," Sora assured him, and we ran up the ramp to the trampoline, and then bounced on it high enough to grab Pinocchio. When we landed, the brunette set the puppet on the ground carefully.

"Oh, Pinoke! Look at ya!" Jiminy gasped, for Pinocchio had the ears and tail of a donkey.

"I think, for now, you two better get out of here," I told them. They nodded and quickly fled for safety, whereas Sora and I returned our attention back to the Dream Eaters. We quickly fought them off with a slight amount of difficulty, and once they were beaten, Sora dispelled his Keyblade. The brunette turned to leave as I perched on his shoulder, but we were suddenly blocked by a dark corridor that appeared in front of us. The young man from before stepped out of it.

"You again?" Sora snapped as I bristled angrily. A very familiar tall man with silver hair, also in a black coat, followed.

"Xemnas?!" I yelped, horrified. "This is impossible!"

"My, my. A hollow puppet that's managed to grow a heart," Xemnas remarked. "Just imagine that."

"Pinocchio isn't anything like you Nobodies," Sora pointed out. "But if Pinocchio could be given one—shouldn't you be able to have a heart inside you, too?" Xemnas gave a breathy laugh before answering.

"Maybe so," he said. "However—do not forget that you, yourselves, are not so very different from us." He then vanished back into the corridor.

"How are we anything like a Nobody?" I wondered aloud, shaking my head in disbelief. "That doesn't make any sense." Sora shrugged, and we left the circus tent.

"Well, I hope they got home safe," the brunette told me as we stopped outside. Out of nowhere, a blue star in the night sky flashed, and floated down to Sora and me. We shielded our eyes from the bright light, and when we lowered our hands from our faces, we were surprised to see the Blue Fairy before us.

"You must be Sora and Shadow," she guessed.

"Oh. Yes, ma'am," Sora said. "And you must be the Blue Fairy."

"That's right," she nodded. "And I'm afraid that I have grave news. Good Geppetto went off to look for Pinocchio, and he was swallowed by a whale named Monstro."

"What? Have you told Pinocchio and Jiminy about it yet?" I asked urgently.

"Yes, and when I told them Geppetto was still alive inside the whale, and at the bottom of the sea, those two little ones ran off at once," she answered. "They're very determined to save him."

"But that's crazy! We've gotta find them!" Sora declared, and we took off down along the cliff to the edge of the sea.

The brunette and I trudged through the sand at the bottom of the sea, making our way to a wavy sea bed, where we noticed Pinocchio and Jiminy running away from something, and coming straight towards us. I looked past my partner to see Monstro the whale swimming right at us, his jaws opening angrily and roaring. Screeching, I immediately gained Sora's attention with the noise, and we ducked as Monstro flew over us, knocking us into the surrounding land. Pieces of rock and debris fell and blocked off the entrance where Sora and I had come in at. The current Monstro had left in his wake was intense, and it pulled the four of us around in the water. I was swift to regain my balance, and Sora copied my actions as Pinocchio and Jiminy flailed about in the water, paddling for dear life. Monstro's open maw slowly gained on them.

"Pinocchio! Jiminy!" Sora and I cried out. Monstro's great jaws closed down on either side of them, trapping them inside of him. The brunette and I rapidly swam towards the whale, but were passed by a Dream Eater called a Chill Clawbster. It shot past us, swimming towards Monstro, who roared as the Nightmare fired a beam of ice at the whale. Monstro slowed considerably as he neared the surface, and I growled with frustration.

"Oh no!" Sora gasped, and we swam as fast as we could after them. Finally, we caught up with the frozen whale caught in a sea of ice. The Chill Clawbster flew overhead.

"We'll have to claw our way past, then rescue our friends!" I told Sora firmly, and he nodded in agreement. The brunette summoned his Keyblade which made my claws glow with their light, and we leapt into action against the Chill Clawbster. As we fought, we chipped away at the ice encasing Monstro, eventually breaking it. Encasing the giant whale in a bubble, we used it to follow Chill Clawbster as it attempted to escape. As we got closer, Chill Clawbster tried to attack the bubble, but popped it instead, giving Monstro the chance to swallow the Nightmare instead. The force of the bubble popping knocked Sora and me down into the water. As soon as we resurfaced, we immediately noticed the giant whale opening its mouth, but we had no time to move. Screaming, we were blown away when Monstro sneezed.

When we came to again, we were once more on the mainland. Sora sat up as I stretched and shook in a dog-like manner. We looked out as the waves lapped against the shore.

"I get it now," Sora realized as we gazed out upon the ocean. "After this, Pinocchio and Jiminy's world gets dragged into darkness, and they end up cast into the sea between worlds, along with Monstro."

"And then…they end up in Traverse Town, and the belly of the whale," I continued. "That's when we meet for real. It's like Mater Yen Sid said—we're in the dream Pinocchio's world is dreaming. And that world will never be right again until it wakes from sleep." A Keyhole appeared in the sky, and Sora and I sealed it before preparing to leave for the next world.

A/N: Fifth update today! Impressive, right? R&R, peeps!


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Not much time to update over this weekend, but I'll do my best! Here's The Grid! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 4

In a flash, Sora and I were in the next world, which was very familiar to us. Digital stripes lined the edges of the landscape as we looked ourselves over. Sora was clad in a digital outfit while I bore my own digital pattern on my black armor.

"What? This outfit…Hey, I know where we are!" Sora exclaimed excitedly.

_At last, some familiarity_, I thought to myself. Looking up, we spotted a giant flying machine, its core pulsing off some intense form of energy and bright light.

"Whoa! What is that?" Sora gasped in awe. The two of us ran off, following it through the city. Eventually, it landed, and Sora paused, panting a bit. Its passenger bay lowered, and some guards stepped out. Warily, I tensed up, watching as they approached us. "Whoa! Oh man!" the brunette said, and the guards stopped in front of us.

"Identify. State your handles, programs," they ordered.

"We, uh…don't have any handles, but the name's are Sora and Shadow!" my partner told them.

"Verifying handle 'Sora and Shadow'…Handle not found. Stray programs recognized," the guard said, and two of them grabbed us. I struggled furiously, as did Sora. "Isolating for quarantine."

"Whoa there! That is so unfriendly!" Sora yelped, and I struggled enough to break free before they could trap me, and Sora yanked out of their grip. We immediately fled back to the city. Along a bridge, however, we came upon an armored opponent. He reached for the identity disk on his back and split it into two disks, holding one in each hand as weapons. Sora readied his Keyblade as I bared my fangs in response.

Suddenly, the program touched his helmet as if listening to a command. Sora lowered his guard, but I tensed up, thinking it might be a trick. The brunette's guard shot back up, however, when the program jumped and flipped over us, escaping.

"What was that about?" I wondered aloud. Sora shrugged, jostling me slightly.

"Hey, that weapon. Can I see it?" a girl's voice asked curiously, and we turned to see two men, one older than the other, and a young woman approaching us. Sora glanced at his Keyblade for a moment before holding it out. Bending down, she examined it with wonder in her eyes. "This is just incredible. What a program—the weapon and the wielder." I rolled my eyes at her ignorance of my presence.

"Program? Not us!" Sora shook his head. "This is called a Keyblade, and I'm Sora. This is Shadow."

"I'm Sam," the younger man introduced himself.

"So this is, like, Tron's world, right?" Sora guessed as I shuffled my wings a bit.

"You know Tron?" the older man questioned, surprised.

"I, uh…yeah, we've met him…and stuff," the brunette mumbled quickly.

"Listen, that program you two just fought was Tron," he told us.

"What? That was Tron?" I yelped.

"Tron used to be a good friend," the man explained. "Together, we created this place, the Grid. It was something, man…but then CLU staged a coup. I was exiled, and…Tron wound up getting de-rezzed. Or so I thought. CLU made him into a new program called Rinzler. That's the thing about programs. Mess with the code just a little, and their whole nature and memory can change."

"But that's…horrible!" Sora exclaimed. "Hmm…most of this is over my head, but both Tron and this world do seem pretty different. Still, if that's really the Tron we know, we should change him back."

"Bingo. And now you're both up to speed," the man nodded, and opened his arms in a zen-like motion. "If we're lucky, CLU kept a back-up of Tron's source code. He's a program, after all. He'd be methodical like that." He chuckled.

"So, if we get Tron's 'source code' back from CLU, we can put him back together, right?" I assumed.

"That's the idea," the man confirmed.

"Great! Thanks, mister," Sora thanked him, and we turned to leave. I even jumped off of Sora's shoulder to run for myself for once.

"Where are you going?" he asked before we could bolt.

"We're going after CLU," I replied. "What does it look like?"

"Do you even know where he is?" the man questioned.

"Nope, no idea," Sora shrugged.

"What strange Users," the girl remarked. "Neither of you are like Flynn or Sam. Come on, Sora and Shadow. I'll show you the way."

"Huh?" Sam uttered, puzzled, as she walked over to us.

"Quorra, we have to keep moving," the older man, obviously Flynn, told her.

"Yeah. What are you gonna do if Rinzler attacks again?" Sam pointed out. I rolled my eyes; she obviously wasn't helpless, or else she wouldn't be here.

"If we're in a hurry, we have to take care of Rinzler first," she retorted. Sora and I nodded.

"The three of us can handle him," I agreed with a smile. Flynn considered it carefully before answering.

"All right. Do what you can. Maybe you, Sora, and Shadow can help Tron," he said.

"Dad, no," Sam protested.

"Relax, Sam," Flynn assured his son. "I have a feeling Sora and Shadow are people we can trust. Now you and me need to press on."

"Okay," Sam sighed. As he passed Quorra, he told her, "Be careful."

"You too," she replied, and the father and son left. "All right, it's you two and me. You ready, Sora and Shadow?"

"Yeah. Let's do this, Quorra," Sora nodded.

"CLU should be at the helm of his battleship, the Rectifier," she told us. "We can get there with a Solar Sailer from the underground docks." From the bridge, we made our way to the underground docks like Quorra had said, and rode a Solar Sailer out to the battleship. When we arrived, I glanced about, but didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"You sure we'll find Tron's source code here?" I questioned. Quorra searched the room, but didn't find anything.

"It's not here," she murmured. "Maybe CLU has it with him. Sora. Shadow. Let's look elsewhere."

"All right," Sora agreed, but suddenly, the door opened to reveal Rinzler. Quorra whipped out her identity disk, preparing to fight, but Sora grabbed her arm to stop her. "Wait, Quorra! Let us talk to Rinzler. A little heart-to-heart might jog his memory."

"He's a program, Sora," she pointed out. "Programs don't have hearts."

"That's not true," I argued. "The Tron we remember, he had something." We turned to Rinzler, and Sora spoke up.

"Hey, you used to be called 'Tron,' right?" Sora said. "CLU did something to you to mess with your memory. You're a little confused, but that's okay. C'mon, remember, Tron!" Instead of saying or pausing, however, Rinzler readied his weapons and struck at us, spinning in the air and sending his disks flying at Sora and me. The brunette gasped as I tensed, and Quorra jumped in front of us to take the blow, but we were still all three hit. Quorra jumped back and flung her disk at Rinzler, who smoothly dodged it. Sora got to his feet and I crouched into a defensive stance as she caught her disk again.

"I don't think Rinzler…is quite the friend you remember," Quorra murmured. She rushed him again as Sora rubbed his arm and lowered his gaze to the floor.

"He just needs time, that's all," the brunette mumbled. We happened to look up in time to see Rinzler kick Quorra squarely in the face, and she crumpled to the ground.

"Quorra!" I shrieked. We rushed over as Rinzler moved to finish her off.

"Tron, don't!" Sora begged. Rushing towards them, we barely reached the pair before Rinzler escaped with Quorra. "Tron…why?"

"That's what we do. Put the most precious memories in the back of our mind where they're safe," a voice said, and we looked to see the same young man in the black coat as before. "Or in your cases, the most precious…hearts?"

"Not you again!" I growled angrily.

"The memory and the heart are tightly linked," Xemnas's voice said, and Sora gasped, me bristling furiously on his shoulder, as the Nobody stepped out to join the younger silver haired man.

"Xemnas!" Sora yelped.

"Rub a few memories together, and you get a spark of emotion, a feeling," Xemnas began. "But in a digital world, memory does not work like that. Nothing is ever felt. You can hold a thousand, a million times the information, but there is still no heart with which to parse it. Once, my master, Ansem, found an old system and made a copy of its Master Control Program…and used it to serve his own ends. This is the original data of that system. Here, data can be copied." Suddenly, we saw a duplicate of ourselves. "Memory can be changed and easily manipulated." Several more copies appeared. "Tron is a digital entity, so why would he be any different? He obeys the rules of this world. Sora, Shadow—what about you?"

"Us?" I questioned.

"Your hearts, memories, your data, and your dreams," he said. "The bits and bytes that have made up your lives so far—can you say for sure they are not just copies of someone else's?" Sora and I looked at each other, and saw the answer in the other's eyes. The brunette shook his head.

"Yes! Our memories and feelings belong to us," he answered.

"You had better check," Xemnas retorted. Turning away, he added, "Make certain the box's contents match what's on the label…since you have been chosen." The silver-haired man returned to the dark corridor and vanished.

"Chosen for what?" I demanded, baring my teeth.

"You think this is the realm of dreams, but there, you are mistaken. Data does not dream, cannot dream," the younger man said. Suddenly, the doors opened, and Sora and I felt the wind from the digital sea whip around us, making us struggle to keep our ground. "This world is real. You haven't the slightest idea where you are—that you've already wandered off the path."

"What do you mean?" Sora yelled. I snarled furiously from my partner's shoulder. The man gave a small laugh and vanished through another corridor before we could get an answer, though. Suddenly, the brunette and I found ourselves on the Game Grid.

"What in the world?" I said, bewildered.

"Combatants 13 and 13.5 versus Rinzler," an announcer's voice said. We looked around and saw Rinzler and another man enter through a platform in the floor. The man resembled a younger version of Flynn.

"Greetings, Sora and Shadow," he said. "I've been waiting."

"Who are you?" Sora demanded.

"I am CLU," he answered.

"So it was you! You're the guy that turned Tron into Rinzler!" I growled.

"Correct. I had to repurpose his code," CLU said simply.

"Well, un-repurpose it!" Sora ordered, and I nearly face-palmed at his wording. How could he sound so…stupid? Whatever…

"Yes. Under the right parameters, I might."

"Huh?" I uttered.

"You have a couple little items called the Keyblade and light," CLU began. "They can open any lock, right? Hand them over, and I'll change Rinzler back into Tron." Sora summoned his Keyblade, causing my claws to glow as Rinzler took a step forward.

"The Keyblade and light? We…can't," the two of us mumbled. "This is what lights the darkness. A chance to make everyone happy!"

"Ha! Flawed reasoning," CLU scoffed. "I'll have to take them by force."

He descended down on the same platform he entered on, and Rinzler rushed at us and readied his disks. Spinning in the air, he flung both disks flying at us. I blocked one with my tail while Sora blocked the other with his Keyblade. The disks flew back to Rinzler and he readied them for another strike.

"Tron, why can't we get through to you?" Sora wondered worriedly. I noticed Quorra watching us from above, and looked up at her.

"Fight, Sora and Shadow!" she yelled to us.

"Quorra!" Sora gasped when he heard her. I blocked the next few strikes from Rinzler with my tail and wings, growling from the effort. Damn, he was stronger than I remembered… "You're okay! I can't believe it!"

"Yes. I think Tron heard you both," she told us. "Long enough for me to escape. You can do it. You both can get through to him!" Suddenly, the Rectifier started to move for takeoff, and Quorra braced herself so she wouldn't fall while Sora and I continued to block. "Sora, Shadow, you have to fight him!"

"But Quorra! How can we—" I started to say, but she cut me off.

"You have that key and light. They will bring him to his senses," she insisted. Rinzler leapt into the air and struck, his disks creating sparks as they ground against the Keyblade and my diamond armor.

"We'll try!" the brunette and I called back determinedly, and forced Rinzler back. Our old friend landed in a swift stance.

"Let's go, Tron!" I growled, and Sora and I charged at him.

We fought a grueling battle filled with acrobatics and ceiling matches, and eventually, I could tell something deep within Rinzler had reacted during our fight. Sora and I leapt into the air, and a holographic sensor appeared over Rinzler's chest. We pushed it, sending the program into a low power state. Rinzler hovered for a second before sinking to the floor. Sora walked over while I trotted alongside him to check our old friend over, but then CLU ascended to the stage again and chucked his identity disk at us. Out of nowhere, however, Rinzler shot up and took the hit, deflecting CLU's disk with his own. Rinzler sank to his knees again as the disk hit the wall, then the ceiling, and then crashed down on the piece of the floor beneath him, shattering it.

"Tron!" we cried out desperately. We reach out to try and grasp Rinzler's hand and he tried to reach back, but it was too late. He plummeted down, and CLU watched his descent.

"I'll deal with you later. I have to retrieve Rinzler," CLU growled, and left via the platform. Quorra made her way over to us as we stared at the hole in the floor that Rinzler—no, Tron—had fallen through. I whimpered softly.

"He reached for my hand," Sora murmured. Quorra cast us a sympathetic expression.

"Tron is still in there," I stated reassuringly.

"Both of you, and that key and light have a special power," she told us.

"So do you—power to make us see it," Sora smiled at her.

"So, does that mean we're friends?" Quorra asked.

"Of course," I grinned, and we all three chuckled. Later on, Sora and I stood alone on the Game Grid.

"What if our memories aren't our own?" Sora wondered aloud, doubt evident in his tone. He shook his head, clearing it of such thoughts.

"No, we gotta be like Tron," I told him, and he nodded. "Maybe we're walking the wrong path, but our hearts will lead us back to the truth."

The Keyhole appeared, and Sora and I sealed it before preparing to leave for the next world.

A/N: Sorry about the delay, I had work and a date with my boyfriend this past weekend, and am pretty busy getting ready for a road trip. Trust me, I'll still write on the road trip, seeing as I'm bringing my laptop, but I won't be able to update as often. R&R, peeps!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Back to Traverse Town they go! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 5

Sora and I ended up in Traverse Town again, but we started off from where we had left off last time, in the Fifth District.

"Huh? We're back in Traverse Town," Sora uttered, confused. I happened to notice Joshua on a platform, watching us, but before I could say anything, he spoke up.

"Why, hello down there, Sora and Shadow," he greeted. "I've been waiting." Sora turned to look at him, turning me in the process, and the brunette quirked a brow at the slighter silver-haired teen.

"You do know you can wait on the ground, right?" Sora pointed out. "Come down so we can talk."

"Now?" Joshua asked.

"'Now'?" I repeated, puzzled. "What do you mean, 'now'? You're the one who said you were waiting!" Joshua shrugged and jumped down to our level.

"You know you're turning more into Neku every day," he chuckled. "But listen, I'm glad you four showed up because—"

"You 'four'? Does that mean Riku and Kurai are here?" Sora demanded eagerly.

"Yes. But you two and them are still a world apart," Joshua told us. "They didn't seem especially worried, though. They know they'll find you."

"Yeah," I nodded in agreement.

"Just look at Neku. He and the others all found their Game partners," the silverette said.

"Oh, they're back home safe now?" I guessed. Joshua shook his head.

"Remember what I told you. Their existence is on the line—and the Reapers are dead set on erasing them for good," he reminded us. "But they found refuge in this world, and luckily each other, too."

"'Reapers'?" Sora repeated.

"Right," Joshua nodded. "If Neku and the others want to get back to where they came from, they need to win the 'Reapers' Game.' It's like a series of missions. Those are the rules of their home ground. Except…this time, the mission is a tough one. They're pitted against a Dream Eater that can summon a hundred more like it. So, I was sort of hoping you two and Riku and Kurai could help us out. You have your Keyblades and light, and with those, we might still have a chance."

"Well, we're glad they're here with us," I smiled.

"If they are, Riku and Kurai are on one side of the Portal, and you two are on the other," the silver-haired teen reiterated. "They might be by your sides—they might be a million miles away. You can't measure the distance in time or space. Even without the wall between you, it's hard to say."

"Don't worry. They're with us—even when it may seem like they're not," I said firmly. Joshua smiled slightly and looked away.

"Then you four are lucky," he murmured.

"You and your friend are lucky too, Joshua," Sora assured him.

"I appreciate you saying that with conviction, even though you have no idea what you're talking about," he laughed.

"Hey!" Sora protested. I merely rolled my eyes.

"Anyway…Neku and his partner are pinned down in the fountain plaza," Joshua informed us. "I can count on you, right?"

"Always!" I smirked. Sora and I ran off to the Fountain Plaza in the Fourth District, where we spotted Neku and a girl with him, both of them fighting the Dream Eaters. Suddenly, more appeared, and one of them, a Tatsu Blaze, charged up to shoot a fireball at Neku. Right before it hit, however, Sora and I leapt in and blocked the attack.

"Miss us?" Sora asked with a grin. I sniggered from where I stood next to Sora. The girl, who had been knocked into the pool, righted herself.

"Sora? Shadow?" Neku said in shock.

"We'll take it from here!" I told him.

"No," Neku argued. "I don't need your help."

"'Course you do! Where are your Dream Eaters? How else can you fight?" Sora asked.

"I don't need them anymore," the ginger haired boy told us. The girl hopped out of the fountain, dripping wet.

"Oh, right, your partner," I remembered. "Well, don't you want to make it out of the Game? Who's gonna help her if you get hurt?" Neku and the girl slowly nodded to each other.

"Okay, you win," Neku nodded as the girl ran ahead. "I'll let you two do the sweating." Sora nodded and I growled, and we quickly defeated the Nightmares. When it was all said and done, though, the Dream Eater that had summoned them, Spellican, vanished.

"He got away!" Sora complained. The brunette dispelled his Keyblade as Neku and his partner walked over.

"Sora. Shadow," Neku said.

"So, you must be Neku's partner," I assumed, speaking to the girl.

"Yeah. I'm Shiki. Nice to meet you," she greeted. "Neku's told me all about you two."

"Cool," Sora smiled. "But you should have seen him. He looked everywhere for you." Neku waved his hands around to try and get Sora to shut up.

"Hey, Sora, stop talking!" he snapped.

"What? Why? You said you need her. That's a good thing," the brunette pointed out. Shiki gave a shy smile.

"That's sweet, Neku," she said. He rubbed his hair, frustrated.

"I need you to stop annoying me," he muttered.

"Mm-hmm. Well, I still think it's sweet," Shiki insisted, hugging her doll closer to her. "It's nice to be needed."

"I'm sorry, is this a bad time?" Joshua's voice called out as he walked over. "Because that Dream Eater we're after has retreated to the other imagining of this world."

"'Other imagining'? You mean…where Riku and Kurai are," I guessed.

"Yes. He and our other friends will do what they can. But we'll just run ourselves in circles at this rate," Joshua stated validly. "We need to trap that thing in one place, and then we can finish it."

"Trap it where?" Sora asked.

"The Third District," he answered.

"Okay," I nodded, and Shiki, Neku, Sora, and I ran off to the Third District to trap Spellican there. When we arrived, Joshua watched from an above area as Spellican appeared with its Portal. Sora readied his Keyblade as I got into an offensive stance.

"We got it, Riku and Kurai!" we called.

"It's working! They pulled through for us!" Joshua said. The Spellican summoned a bunch of Dream Eaters, which then scattered in several directions.

"We'll take care of them," Neku told us. "You two take care of the boss!"

"Will do," Sora agreed, and the ginger and Shiki took off through the door to the Second District.

A great lightning bolt struck the ground before us, and then a slightly different Hockomonkey from last time burst out of the ground and attacked. We defeated it, and then another Dream Eater, a winged Wargoyle, attacked. Same as Hockomonkey, we defeated Wargoyle, and then finally, Char Clawbster attacked. I charged up a Blizzard spell in my claws and fired it at the Nightmare along with Sora, finishing it off. When it was all said and done, however, a Keyhole appeared in the sky and Spellican took off into it.

"Not again!" I whined. Shiki, Neku, and Joshua walked over to us once it was gone.

"Hey Josh, where'd it go?" Neku asked.

"Somewhere else. Out of Traverse Town, and out of my reach," the slighter silverette answered. "We'll just have to let it go."

"Great…" Neku sighed.

"So we failed the mission?" Shiki wondered.

"Hmm…" Joshua hummed.

"We'll go after it!" Sora offered.

"What?" Neku said.

"C'mon, we're not actual Players," I reminded them. "Can't we bend the rules?" Shiki giggled as Joshua chuckled.

"Well, I guess the rules of the world don't apply if your hearts are connected—right, Sora and Shadow?" he smiled. "That's how you roll."

"Right! Then it's settled," Sora grinned. We faced the Keyhole and Sora pointed his Keyblade at it while I pointed my claws at it.

"Sora. Shadow," Neku said suddenly. We looked back at him curiously. "Thanks. It wasn't easy, but you both made it easier."

"Yeah," I nodded.

"Wow, Neku. You've changed," Shiki told him.

"Huh? You think?" the ginger said.

"Yeah, you're less dorky," she laughed.

"What?" he yelped. The pinkette giggled at his reaction.

"Once you find your friends, Sora and Shadow, you should come hang out in our town!" Shiki suggested to us.

"Definitely. See you in Shibuya," Neku agreed.

"Sure. It's a deal," Sora smiled. We walked back over to them and each held a hand out. Neku and Shiki each placed one hand on top of ours, and then Sora and I looked at Joshua expectantly. He put his hand on top before speaking.

"Anything I should pass on to Riku and Kurai?" he asked.

"Nah," I shook my head. "We'll see them soon." The three smiled at us before we sealed the Keyhole and took off for the next world.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Now to move on! So sorry about the delay! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 6

Sora and I walked into the next world to see Mickey rush towards a Dream Eater, which knocked him back. Running in to help, Sora sliced the Nightmare in half, destroying it, while I helped Mickey back to his feet.

"King Mickey, are you okay?" Sora asked when he joined us.

"Huh? Have we met before?" Mickey questioned.

"What?" I uttered, and the brunette and I looked around the training yard. It bore no resemblance to Disney Castle, which puzzled me a bit.

"Wait, is this like what happened with Jiminy and Tron?" Sora wondered aloud. "But…we're not in Disney Castle, and that world isn't one of the ones that's asleep. I don't get it." Mickey joined us at that moment once I was back on Sora's right shoulder.

"You okay? What's wrong?" he asked.

"Oh, um…we were wondering…where we were?" I said. Mickey then took notice of Sora's Keyblade and my glowing claws.

"Hmm? Where'd you get that key?" he asked my partner.

"This? It's a Keyb—" the brunette started to say, but the mouse interrupted.

"Shh!" he shushed him. He came closer and whispered, "I know. You both came from another world, right?"

"Huh? Uh, yeah," I nodded.

"My name's Mickey. I'm workin' on a problem," Mickey told us. "That's why I'm in this world bein' a Musketeer."

"Hmm…So, are we in a world that the king visited that we don't know about—a world that's trapped in sleep somewhere?" I wondered quietly to Sora. "'Cause I guess…"

"You seem confused," the mouse said, concerned. Suddenly, a group of Dream Eaters appeared. "Look out!" I bared my fangs and Sora readied his Keyblade.

"We're Sora and Shadow. Let us handle 'em," I growled, and we leapt into action, fighting off and destroying the Dream Eaters. Once they were gone, we turned back to Mickey.

"Thanks. I sure owe ya one. Some Musketeer I turned out to be," he sighed. Out of nowhere, Goofy ran in, swinging his sword wildly.

"Where's the bad guys?" he yelled.

"Goofy!" Sora greeted.

"Everything's under control, Goof," Mickey assured him. Goofy then stopped and opened eyes, making me relax. He probably would've poked someone's eye out with that thing if he hadn't stopped sooner…

"Really? You mean we clobbered 'em?" Goofy asked. Donald was slowly walking back in after Goofy.

"Are they…gone?" he gulped.

"Hey, Donald!" Sora called to him, making the poor duck jumped in fright. I facepalmed at Sora's foolishness.

"What? Who are you?" Donald demanded.

"Gawrsh, do I know you from somewhere?" Goofy added as the pair walked over to us. Sora and I thought for a moment before nodding to each other.

"No…nice to meet you," I greeted.

"Say fellas, this is Sora and Shadow," Mickey told them. "And it doesn't matter when we met. Once we make a friend, we're friends for life."

"Hi. I'm Donald," Donald said.

"And I'm Goofy," Goofy added.

"Friends for life," Sora and I nodded.

"Now, we've gotta go protect the princess! Donald, Goofy, follow me!" Mickey reminded them, and they started to leave.

"Hey, wait! You're not gonna let us come along?" Sora demanded.

"But you're not Musketeers," Mickey pointed out. "And this mission is fraught with danger."

"All the more reason we should help," I argued. "When the going gets tough, the tough call their friends."

"Hmm…Well, all right. Thank you!" the mouse smiled.

"Great! Should we do the thing?" Goofy asked.

"The 'thing'?" Sora questioned. I tilted my head, confused as to what he meant. Goofy leaned over and whispered into Sora's and my ears, and then we understood. Mickey pointed his sword into the air.

"All for one…" he started. The others copied, and I used my tail as a make-shift sword.

"And one for all!" we finished. Later on, as Mickey, Donald, Sora, and I stood atop a carriage, Goofy held the reins in the driver's seat. Princess Minnie was inside, and we had to protect her. We were riding along a long dirt road when out of nowhere, I perked up upon hearing loud footsteps from behind. I whipped around and growled as soon as we all spotted the large Tyranto Rex Dream Eater charging towards us.

"A Dream Eater!" I snarled.

"Bad guy!" Donald and Mickey yelped. Donald fell over in fright, losing his hat.

"Bad guy?" Goofy gasped from the driver's seat. Suddenly, the Tyranto Rex leapt and attacked the carriage, knocking Donald, Goofy, and Mickey off the carriage. Sora whipped out his Keyblade, causing my claws to glow.

"Gotta protect the carriage, no matter what!" the brunette said determinedly. I nodded, still growling, and we got to work. The Tyranto Rex shot fireballs at us, and we knocked them back until it was down and out. Sora dispelled his Keyblade before we turned to see a trio of beagle bandits. Snickering and smirking, they pointed their rapiers at us. "Huh?"

"We'll be lightenin' your load by one princess," the first one stated.

"Now make like those Musketeers and scram," the second barked.

"Au revoir," the third declared, and threw his rapier at us, knocking us off the carriage. As we stood up again, we had time to catch a glimpse of the carriage as it raced out of sight. Sora turned as I climbed onto his shoulder, and we saw a disappointed Mickey, Donald, and Goofy walking towards us.

"Your Majest—ah, I mean, Mickey!" Sora said.

"Sora! Shadow!" Mickey cried out as he ran closer.

"I'm sorry," I apologized with a small whimper. "They got away with the princess."

"Don't be. It's not your fault," the mouse assured us.

"As long as we all stick together, I know we can get the princess back!" Goofy declared.

"It's hopeless…" Donald sighed.

"Goofy's right," Mickey nodded, ignoring Donald's remark. "As a team, we can do anything!"

"Yeah! Come on!" Sora said eagerly. We all walked through the rustic countryside until we reached the river, where we spotted the carriage, abandoned.

"Hey, look, Mickey! There's the carriage!" Goofy pointed, and we saw it standing by a leafless tree. "But there's no sign of the princess."

"Then that means…" Donald started to say, but trailed off.

"Yep," Mickey nodded. "She's out there somewhere, counting on us to come to the rescue."

"Yeah, 'cause we're Musketeers!" Donald cheered.

"And we're gonna be the ones to save her!" Mickey added. The three ran off towards a bridge that led to an old tower, leaving us behind.

"Hey! Aren't you forgetting someone?" I shouted indignantly, and we quickly caught up to them. We found the Beagle Boys hiding out inside the tower at the top, and while Mickey and the others freed the princess, Sora and I fought off the bandits. We made quick work of them, and then we turned to Mickey and Minnie.

"Sora, Shadow! Thank you," Mickey told us gratefully. "Princess Minnie is safe. We couldn't have done it without ya."

"Sure. Happy to help," Sora grinned.

"Oh, my heroes!" Minnie said happily. Suddenly, Goofy noticed something behind us.

"It's the bad guys!" he warned. Sora, Mickey, and Goofy readied their weapons as I bared my fangs at them, hissing.

"Thought we'd go down easy-peasy, eh?" the first one sneered.

"Lemme at 'em!" the second crowed.

"All right. We can do this all day!" I snarled.

"Wait, Sora and Shadow," Mickey said calmly, and turned to Goofy. "Got any ideas, Goofy?"

"Hmm…" Goofy hummed in thought. I noticed his eyes glance at the window behind the Beagle Boys, and I sat back on my haunches, interested. This should be good. "Aha!"

"You've got an idea?" Mickey asked.

"And it might even be a good one, too! Hold on," Goofy told him.

"Sure, take your time," the mouse assured him. Suddenly, Goofy grabbed Mickey.

"Charge!" he shouted, and blasted out the window behind the Beagle Boys. They flew into a tree branch, which buckled back and ricocheted them into the tower and smashed them into the Beagle Boys, sending them flying out the other window opposite of where Mickey and Goofy had flown out, and into the river. "How'd I do?" Goofy asked eagerly.

"Yeah! We did it! Hurray for the Musketeers!" Mickey cheered as Donald walked in from the stairs timidly.

"We did it?" he questioned. Everyone but Minnie and I took out their swords, and I pointed my tail up like a sword as we assumed our stances.

"All for one, and one for all!" we cried out as one.

Later on, Sora, Goofy, and I were patrolling through the palace training yard at nighttime. The brunette yawned and stretched, making me yawn in response.

"Huh? Do you see that?" Goofy asked out of nowhere.

"Hmm? What's up?" Sora asked.

"Hey, you! Not so fast!" he yelled, and then took off after something.

"Goofy, where are you going?" I shouted after him. Sora and I ran after him, passing Mickey, who was standing with Pluto.

"What's the matter, Sora and Shadow? Hold on!" the mouse called after us, and we skidded to a stop.

"Oh, Mickey," Sora said. "Goofy just sort of…took off."

"Goofy's gone? But why would he leave his post?" Mickey wondered aloud. Suddenly, Donald came running in.

"HELP!" he screamed.

"Not you, too, Donald?" the mouse said. The duck skidded to a halt and ran back to us.

"What do we do? It's a disaster!" he wailed.

"Calm down, Donald! Start from the beginning," Mickey instructed.

"The captain's gonna kidnap Princess Minnie!" Donald shrieked.

"What? But he's the one who made us Musketeers!" Mickey gasped.

"It was all a big lie," Donald insisted.

"A lie? Well…lie or no lie. Musketeers don't ever run from danger!" Mickey declared.

"Then it's time for me to get a new job!" Donald stated, and started to flee.

"Donald, wait!" Mickey called after him. "Together, we can stop Captain Pete."

"Yeah. We're in this together," I pointed out.

"C'mon. We'll be right beside you, 'cause we're friends," the mouse agreed.

"I just can't do it," Donald shook his head. "I'm sorry."

"Donald!" Mickey yelped, but the duck fled. "Donald…" Pluto and I whimpered.

"He'll be back. I know it," Sora assured us all, stroking my head kindly.

"Aw, thanks, Sora and Shadow," the mouse told us gratefully.

"So, this 'captain' guy's the culprit," I murmured. "I wonder what he's up to." Out of nowhere, a loud, booming laugh sounded, one that was quite familiar.

"What am I up to?" the voice laughed. We looked, alarmed, to see Pete walk in from above. "I'm up to plenty!"

"Pete?" Sora yelped. He whipped out his Keyblade, and I bristled furiously, snarling.

"Whozzat?" Pete uttered, confused for a moment, but then he laughed. "A stranger, lookin' to be endangered…You, mangle these yardsticks!" A group of Dream Eaters appeared, and Sora and I turned to face them. Mickey, meanwhile, jumped to the balcony to face Pete.

"Captain Pete, by the power vested in me as a Musketeer, I arrest you, mister!" he announced, and pointed his rapier at Pete, but the brute merely laughed loudly at Mickey's actions.

"That's a good one," Pete laughed. "Well, how's about this? By the power invested in my fist, I clobber you!" He punched Mickey, knocking out the mouse, and hence distracting Sora and me as a Me Me Bunny then knocked _us_ out. We woke up to a pair of voices calling our names to try and wake us.

"Sora?" Donald's voice said.

"Shadow?" Goofy's voice added. I opened my eyes, grumbling about stupid rabbits and their punching. Sora opened his eyes as well and sat up.

"Donald…Goofy…" the brunette mumbled, looking around. "Where's Mickey?"

"Captain Pete and his guys took Mickey to Mont Saint-Michel," Goofy informed us. "And that means he's in big trouble! Once the tide comes in, the dungeon'll fill up with water!"

"And so will Mickey," Donald added.

"Well, come on," I said, shaking the dirt off of my armor. "We gotta go save him!"

"Oh…but how?" Donald questioned worriedly.

"What are you saying?" Sora demanded. "You and Goofy wouldn't have come back if you weren't ready to save him! We're friends—friends for life, remember?"

"Yeah!" Donald nodded.

"Best of friends to the very end!" Goofy agreed.

"Good. Let's go!" I crowed

"Right," Goofy nodded.

"Okay!" Donald said. We took off and rode a boat from the shoreline to Mont Saint-Michel, where we combed through the fortress, searching for Mickey. The four of us eventually found him in the deepest dungeon, which was almost filled with water. I swam in and grabbed him, and then swam back out. When we got outside, we stood over him as he woke up.

"Donald? Goofy? You, too, Sora and Shadow?" Mickey gasped in surprise. "You came back."

"C'mon, men! We gotta save the princess!" Donald reminded us all.

"Aw, fellas. We're not even real Musketeers," Mickey sighed.

"Wrong. You are real Musketeers!" Sora argued. "And don't let anybody else tell you you're not."

"It doesn't matter what you wear," Donald started.

"Only what kind of heart it is that beats inside of ya!" Goofy finished. Mickey stood and put his hat back on.

"You know what? You're right, pals," Mickey agreed. "When the bunch of us stick together, we can accomplish anything! Pete said he was headed for the opera house. And that's where we'll find Her Majesty! C'mon, Musketeers. We've got a princess to rescue." The five of us rushed to the opera house, where we found the Beagle Boys gathered around a large chest.

"Hey. Over there!" I growled.

"Oi! Those nitwits!" the first Beagle Boy warned his comrades, pointing at us.

"The boss is gonna be mad," the second yelped.

"Hurry!" the third one advised, and then the first one ran inside while the other two carried the chest after him. Cries sounded from the chest as they ran.

"Help!" Minnie's voice squealed as they went.

"Princess!" Mickey gasped. "C'mon. It's time to put our Musketeering to the test!" We took off after them, following the three into the opera house. Soon, we arrived on stage, where we confronted Pete. "The jig is up, Pete!" Mickey declared.

"There's no escape!" Donald added.

"Yeah, it's three against one, now!" Goofy chimed in. Pete, who was wearing Minnie's crown, chuckled and looked off to his left. A hanging scaffold faltered and dropped a large crate over the Musketeers and Minnie.

"Look out!" Sora yelped as we ran over to try and stop it. Suddenly, the crate stopped and disappeared. "Huh?"

"Impossible!" Pete cried out.

"Riku and Kurai. Riku and Kurai saved us," I said gleefully. "They've been by our side. All right! Musketeers! Get the princess to safety! We'll handle things here."

"Right," Mickey nodded. "Thanks, Sora and Shadow." Then the Musketeers took Minnie to safety.

"Why you…How dare you thwart me in the nick of time!" Pete growled. "This don't add up, I tell ya. Hey! Over here, boys!" Out of nowhere, the Beagle Boys jumped down onto the stage. Sora and I readied ourselves for the fight.

"That's right, you'll need help," Sora said lowly, and I nodded, a feral snarl emerging from my jaws. We fought the Beagle Boys, and then once they were out for the count, Pete jumped down onto the stage.

"I'll do it myself!" he declared, and we quickly beat him, too, using the Beagle Boys and Pete to disable the cannons on the set. Later on, Princess Minnie addressed all five of us. She raised a sword and we bowed before her.

"In gratitude for being so brave and saving us all, I hereby dub thee Royal Musketeers," she said, and stepped forward, touching each of us with the sword. "Thank you all."

"Hurray!" Mickey cheered when she was done.

"We did it!" Goofy crowed, and Mickey drew his sword.

"Fellas?" he said, and they all pointed their swords, and in my case my tail, and tapped them together.

"All for one, and one for all!" we cried out in unison. Later, Sora and I stood alone in the training yard.

"All for one, and one for all!" Sora and I said as one. Then the Keyhole appeared, and we sealed it before moving on to the next world.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: We're nearing the end, folks! 2 more chapters to go, just this one and the final chapter, and then it's over with this series until KH3 comes out. *SOB* Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow & Kurai.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 7

Sora and I arrived in the next world, discovering Mickey in a robe and pointed hat standing atop a tall piece of rock. Waving his arms around, he directed the path of shooting stars about in the night sky. The brunette and I watched in awe.

"Whoa!" I breathed, my eyes widening in amazement. Mickey sent up huge waves of water crashing up on either side of him, but then out of nowhere, a large thundercloud appeared with a crash, and then Spellican came flying out straight at Sora and me. The brunette readied his Keyblade, and I bared my teeth and growled, but then Spellican knocked us out. We woke up inside Master Yen Sid's tower. Only thing was, there was no one there.

"Is this—are we back at Master Yen Sid's tower?" Sora wondered aloud. He looked about, and I copied him.

"Something seems off," I remarked. We then spotted Mickey, still in the robe and hat from earlier, sitting in Master Yen Sid's tall chair, waving his fingers about as though he were conducting. A dark aura swirled around him, making him appear as if he were in a trance.

"King Mickey!" Sora gasped. The mouse didn't respond. I glanced about, but did a double-take when I spotted a music stand with notes spinning around it, pulsing with a dark energy. I tapped Sora's shoulder with my tail, and then pointed at it.

"Is this what's troubling him?" he wondered. He summoned his Keyblade, and I stood back, deciding to let him handle this one. "All right…" The brunette struck the stand, but it blew him backwards. Sora and his Keyblade fell to the floor, the blade clattering loudly, and making me flinch at the sudden harsh sound in the quiet. My partner sat up and rubbed his head.

"Gosh, is that a Keyblade? Who are you an apprentice to?" Mickey's voice said, and we looked at the mouse, surprised. Sora and I looked from the Keyblade to Mickey, who was still entranced. "I'm Mickey, the sorcerer's apprentice."

"Apprentice? Wait—are we in some world where the king was still in training?" I wondered aloud, tilting my head to the side in puzzlement. "So does that mean this world is sleeping?"

"What's wrong?" Mickey asked.

"What?" Sora uttered. "Oh, uh, I'm Sora, and this is Shadow—the, uh, 'prentice of…umm…Hey, listen, Your Maj—…I gotta stop that. Mickey—what can we do to save you?"

"Thank you, Sora and Shadow, but it's no use," Mickey's voice sighed. "A monster's possessed that music. And he's releasing darkness that stops anybody from going in there to fight him. To dispel the darkness, we need a Sound Idea."

"It's that Dream Eater we let escape," I murmured to Sora. My partner walked closer to the sleeping Mickey. "Okay. Where do we get a Sound Idea?"

"What? You'll find one for me?" Mickey asked, surprised.

"Of course!" Sora nodded.

"Thank you," the mouse said gratefully.

"It's not every day we get to do a favor for the king," Sora replied, and I facepalmed.

"Huh? Did ya say something?" Mickey questioned.

"Oh, nothing. Long story," I shrugged, glaring slightly at Sora for nearly confusing the heck out of the poor mouse. He gave me a sheepish grin in return. "So what exactly is a Sound Idea?"

"Hmm…" the mouse hummed. Suddenly, another music stand swirling with purple notes appeared in a burst of light. "Inside this musical score should be a power that can sweep away any darkness. But you gotta be careful. In between those clefs and notes are monsters—not as strong as the big one, but still pretty strong." The score sheet flashed with slight amount of darkness for a split second.

"Got it," we nodded. Sora and I used the Keyblade and light to enter the musical realm, where we entered a beautiful scene. We were surrounded on all sides by the gorgeous scenery. We made our way through a scene of clouds, then a glen, and finally, a set of stormy fields until we got to the end, where we found the Sound Idea at the top of the hill overlooking the sunrise.

"So easily you two sink into the depths of slumber," a familiar and unwelcome voice said, and we turned to see the silver-haired boy from before approaching us.

"Why are you here?" Sora demanded, and I growled lowly as the brunette readied his Keyblade. The boy turned and flower petals floated past him in the air.

"Beautiful world, isn't it? Almost like a dream," he remarked.

"Why are you following us around?" I growled.

"You really haven't caught on? Or are you just assuming it's all part of your little 'test'?" he said tauntingly. "I'm not part of the dream. And if you thought I was…" He paused, catching a flower petal in his hand and crushing it. "…then you're both softer than they say."

"What?" we uttered, bewildered.

"But…this will all be over soon," the boy told us with a slight smile before starting to leave.

"Just who are you people?" Sora asked.

"Sleep on and we will meet again," the silver-haired youth merely stated as he vanished.

"What does that mean?" I wondered aloud, but Sora merely shrugged, not having any idea himself. The Sound Idea flashed with light once before floating over to the brunette and me, giving us its power. Soon after, we returned to the chamber and released the Sound Idea.

"Thank you, Sora and Shadow. I can tell you two found us a Sound Idea. Well, I guess we should try and put it to work," Mickey said. Sora and I nodded, and my partner summoned his Keyblade, and I used my tail in synchronization with him as he waved the blade around as though he were conducting. The Sound Idea glowed brightly and swirls of musical score burst out of it, drawing it into the enchanted music stand. "That's strange…Is one Sound Idea not enough?"

"Don't worry," I assured him. "We've got a couple of friends out there who will help. They're always picking up the slack for us." Speaking of which, it appeared right after I spoke. Musical score filled the air, going in all directions as we conducted. Beautiful music filled the room.

"Wow! The sounds are all joining together to make even more powerful music!" Mickey gasped. The musical score unlocked the enchanted music stand, and the dark aura disappeared.

"Yeah. Two forces are better than one. Right, Riku and Kurai?" Sora and I murmured. The brunette walked over to the music stand, which had red notes swirling around it.

"Okay. Can we get in there to fight that thing now?" Sora asked.

"Yes, but Sora and Shadow—" Mickey started to say, but I cut him off.

"We'll be fine! See ya in a jiff," I grinned. We entered the final musical realm using the Keyblade and my light. Thunderclouds appeared, and my partner and I found ourselves on a tall precipice. The Spellican flew through the starry sky, laughing, so we chased after it. After a short pursuit, we caught up to Spellican and fought and defeated it. When we returned to the chamber, Mickey was back to himself again. He chuckled happily until he noticed the hat on his head, quickly removing it and placing it back on the table. He then walked over to us.

"Thanks, Sora and Shadow!" he told us gratefully. "Don't know what I woulda done without ya!" We shook hands with the mouse before he realized something. "Oh no! The water! I'm in big trouble if I don't fetch it!" He ran to the door carrying buckets, but paused before leaving and turned to us. "See ya real soon, Sora and Shadow!"

"Yeah. You know it," Sora confirmed, nodding. I smiled slightly as well. The mouse left, the old door creaking behind him. The next Keyhole appeared, and then we sealed it before moving on to the last world.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Last chapter, everyone! Enjoy~

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Shadow, Kurai, Night, & Kesshi.

Kingdom Hearts 3D, Shadow's Story

Chapter 8

When Sora and I landed in the next world, it was a very familiar place. And in a bad way. We landed at the base of a tall skyscraper in a dark city, where we looked about, confused.

"Wait, isn't this…" Sora started to say, walking around a bit. "Is the Organization's world sleeping, too? No, it can't be. I know we definitely found the seven Keyholes already. So, we've gotta be awake again and in the real world. But why here?" I shrugged my shoulders, not knowing what to say.

"Aw, what's the matter, sleepyheads?" a too familiar voice taunted, and we looked about warily.

"Who's there? Show yourself!" I snarled.

"We jumped through a lot of hoops to get you two here," the voice continued. "But it looks as if it's gonna pay off." A sudden shot was fired at us out of nowhere, and the brunette and I swiftly dodged it. A man atop an adjacent skyscraper then jumped down to the street level, dispelling his arrow guns. It was Xigbar, looking as cocky as ever.

"You're a part of this?" Sora gasped, surprised as I bristled on his shoulder.

"Hey. Let's hit these plot points in order, Sora and Shadow…Roxas and Night," he began, ignoring Sora's remark. "First, you must be wondering about your revised itinerary. 'Why am I here, not back home?' The answer's simple. We brought you two to this place! Hijacked your little slumber party before it started. And ever since, we've been both your companions and your constant guides."

"Before it started?" I repeated, confused, but then I gasped when I caught on. "The man in the robe! And so that guy in the black coat, and Xemnas…"

"Bingo. You were able to go back in time to just before your home became a Sleeping World, only because a past version of you already existed there," Xigbar explained, walking closer to us. We backed away slowly as he spoke again. "And I can see, in the past, you already met Mr. Robe Guy. Yup, he was there then to make sure you ended up here now."

"That's ridiculous!" I scoffed, but I still felt fearful.

"It sure is. It's too perfect. Who'd ever believe it?" the grey-haired man replied. "Which is why you idiots never saw it coming. You thought you were off doing some kind of test, right? Well, test this—how come you're wearing the same clothes if you're already back home? You are not gonna wake up, okay? Look—there's no real versus dreams anymore. There's just you, us, and this."

"I see. Fair enough," Sora nodded, and summoned his Keyblade, readying himself for a fight. I growled lowly at Xigbar. "So what? At least we know who to blame for it!" We glared heavily at him.

"Ooh, I see you still have that angry look down," Xigbar teased. "But, here is where I tag out. I just got a few more hoops I gotta jump through." He teleported away, leaving us alone. Suddenly, he reappeared in the air above us, and shot 13 bolts at the ground, laughing. In the place of each bolt, a cloaked figure appeared, and the silver-haired youth from our journey stood to our immediate front, his hood completely lowered.

"Come with me," he said, extending his hand, and Sora and I saw a flash of Riku and Kurai doing the same on that fateful night that everything changed. Feeling dizzy, we clutched at our heads, and I whimpered.

"What?" Sora managed to say. We looked to our right and saw Xigbar.

"Pleasant dreams, kiddos," he grinned, and we collapsed.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

We awoke on the beach of Destiny Islands, where we saw the silver-haired young man gazing into the ocean water's depths. A figure in a brown robe with an "X" across its chest walked up to the young man and spoke with him.

"Yes. This was where it started," a voice said, and Sora and I looked to see the cloaked youth sitting to our left. "At this point, I still had no idea that I was talking to myself. He cast away his bodily form just to set me on the appointed path."

"What do you mean?" I growled, narrowing my eyes to slits.

"That is Xehanort reduced to just a heart—the being you and your friends called 'Ansem'," the young man explained. Sora and I turned to see the robed man standing before us.

"Whoa!" the brunette gasped as I yelped. We then blacked out again.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

When we came to again, it was nighttime on Destiny Islands. I noticed the robed Ansem heading into the Secret Place, and I pointed him out to Sora.

"Him!" my partner said, but then we saw ourselves running towards the Secret Place, too. "Is that…"

"Yes. The point in time that Xigbar mentioned," the voice from before said, and we looked at the cloaked youth.

"Us, right before our world was swallowed by the darkness," I murmured.

"To move through time, you must leave your body behind," the young man said. "Ansem first sent me on my way, and then placed himself here when the time was right. That was what set all these events in motion."

"What are you saying? That he knew everything that would happen?" Sora questioned, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"No, not everything. But remember, Ansem possessed Riku and Kurai and saw their experiences in real time," he reminded us.

"So? That could only tell him so much," I snorted, crossing my arms. "How did he know we would be here today?"

"Simple." There was a sudden boom and a gust of wind, and Kairi's form flew out from the Secret Place.

"Kairi!" Sora cried out, and tried to catch her, but she disappeared as we blacked out again.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

We woke up again, this time in Traverse Town. We then felt ourselves floating, and we opened our eyes.

"What is…" Sora started to ask, but then we saw several other floating images of us. We gazed down to the First District as we slowly descended to the ground. Looking up, we saw the other images of us walking around as in our previous visits to the town. One pair of the images even fell to the ground and disappeared.

"You two have been here many times," the voice said. We looked to see the youth standing beside us again, and I internally cringed. Why won't this end? He's making our lives more difficult!

"Your first journey…your voyage through memories…in the datascape…in your dreams. Relived again and again…like déjà vu," he remarked. Sora and I spotted King Mickey as he raced through the door to the Third District.

"King Mickey?" the brunette said curiously, raising his hand up as Donald and Goofy passed through us. Donald turned to Goofy, who was pointing to the sky. We followed their gaze in time to see a star blink out. We looked back down and saw Donald, Goofy, and Pluto walking up the stairs. "Donald! Goofy!" he cried out, and we ran after them. Upon reaching the stairs, Pluto raced out from a side alleyway and through the door to the Third District.

"Pluto!" I shouted, and we pursued the dog to the door, pausing when there was a pair of faint voices.

"Sora! Shadow!" the voices called, and we blacked out, yet again.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

We woke up back in The World That Never Was, each of us wearing a black outfit.

"Huh? Are we back?" I wondered aloud. We then caught Mickey, Donald, and Goofy running through the alleyway back into the city.

"Wait, Your Majesty! Donald! Goofy!" Sora shouted to them. We quickly ran after them and turned a corner. However, we paused when we saw a petite blonde girl in a white dress.

"Naminé? Is that you?" I asked gently, but she turned and fled. "Wait! Naminé!" We caught up to her and Sora grabbed her hand.

"We've got a message for you. We meant to tell you once this was all over," Sora said. She looked toward us, but then her form changed to a girl with dark hair in a black cloak.

"Huh? Who are…you?" I questioned, bewildered. She looked away from us and a tear rolled down Sora's and my cheeks. I brushed away the moisture as Sora did, and we glanced at each other in surprise.

"Wh-why are we…" the brunette wondered curiously. The girl pulled out of Sora's grip and fled, her hood up. "Hey, wait!"

"You've gotta wake up…" a pair of voices called out to us. The girl ran up the stairs and vanished as the world contorted around us. We grabbed our heads and made our way through the endless city. We eventually caught up to a pair of figures in black cloaks, the smaller one perched on the other's shoulder. They were standing in the center of a large crevasse.

"C'mon, wait up. Who are you?" Sora asked, and they turned to face us, lowering their hoods to reveal a boy with blonde, spiked hair, and a dragon with silver plated armor.

"You're…Roxas and Night," I said, tilting my head to the side slightly. "How can you be here? Are we dreaming?" The blonde boy and silver dragon shook their heads, saying nothing.

"C'mon, say something," Sora urged.

"This could have been the other way around," Roxas murmured.

"Huh?" Sora uttered.

"But it really has to be you two," Night continued.

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"There are so many hearts that are connected to both of yours," the blonde explained. "You're us, so you can feel what we felt."

"No. Roxas, Night, you're you. We're not the same," Sora and I told them firmly. "We wanted to tell you that. That you deserve as much as we do to be your own people." The pair gasped and smiled at us.

"Sora, Shadow, see? That's why it has to be you two," Night told us. Roxas grabbed Sora's hands at the same time Night grabbed mine, and we were filled with Roxas and Night's memories and experiences. The pair vanished, and we were left standing alone, overwhelmed with emotions.

"Not again. Did they cause all this pain?" Sora wondered aloud. We clenched our fists, and I bared my fangs in frustration.

"What do you want us to see?" I shouted furiously, but there was no answer.

"Sora, Shadow, don't chase the dreams," the pair of voices called out to us again. "They'll lead you nowhere, just to an abyss you'll never be able to wake up from."

We continued through the distorted city, eventually coming upon a boy with long silver hair, a small, dark grey dragon on his shoulder, and a girl in a pink outfit. Sora and I took off to them.

"Riku, Kurai, Kairi, we found you!" my partner and I cried out to them. We caught our breath and they turned to face us, their forms starting to dissipate. "Huh?" When we looked at them again, there was a tall brunette man and a slightly shorter blunette woman standing there, watching us.

"Who…" I started to say.

"Ven. Kesshi," the man said.

"Ven. Kesshi," the woman repeated. We looked at them in confusion.

"Huh?" we uttered. The pair before us began to extend their hands to us, and we nearly reciprocated, but then their forms began to waver. The two faded back into Riku, Kesshi, and Kairi, and we attempted to run to our friends. No matter how much effort we tried to put into running, however, we felt like we were moving in slow motion.

"What is going on?" Sora yelled in frustration. As we struggled to reach our friends, though, those same two voices from before shouted to us.

"Sora! Shadow! Don't! You've gotta wake up! Sora, Shadow!" they cried out. We became distracted by the voices and took another look back at the brown-haired man and blue-haired woman. The pair faded away and the world faded into Memory's Skyscraper. Sora and I continued to run, each footstep heavier than the one before it.

"Wait!" we shouted. We each reached out our hands, and a bright light appeared, engulfing everything.

The scene changed to Destiny Islands at sunset, where we saw younger versions of Sora, Riku, Kurai, and myself running along the beach. They stopped when they saw a blue-haired woman above them on the bridge. She jumped down and spoke with them, smiling. The world shifted, and Sora and I saw Ansem.

"What…" I started to say. Ansem turned, and we were blown backwards.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

We were back in the Dark City, and a comet appeared and struck a fallen building below. The resulting light flashed in front of Xigbar, who stood before us, unflinching.

"Oopsy-daisy. Wasn't easy putting you into a second sleep, and they almost woke you up," he grinned. The dust settled, and Sora was down on one knee, while I crouched next to him, both of us out of breath.

"So then, all that stuff we just saw—did you put that in our heads?" the brunette questioned.

"No. That wasn't 'stuff,' it was a dream," Xigbar replied. "The falling asleep part was definitely our bad. But we can't put stuff in your heads. Hey, I got an idea. Ask your hearts. See if they've got a clue."

"Well…our hearts were aching," we murmured. "That's why we kept going."

"Oh…Thank you, Sora's and Shadow's hearts, for pushing them right into our clutches," the grey-haired man sneered. "Aren't hearts great? Steer us wrong every time."

"You know, right, because you all have hearts!" I snapped. "Axel and Roxas and Night and Naminé, and that other girl. We felt what Roxas and Night felt and…they laughed together, got mad, and they grieved. You have to have a heart to cry."

"It's about time you noticed," Xigbar smirked.

"Indeed," Xemnas's voice said, and he appeared behind us. "A heart is never lost for good. There may have been variances in our dispositions, but a number of us unquestionably showed signs of a burgeoning replacement. Once born, the heart can also be nurtured. Our experiments creating Heartless were attempts to control the mind, and convince it to renounce its sense of self. But understand, one can banish the heart from the body, but the body will try to replace it the first chance it gets, for as many times as it takes. And so I knew, even after we were divided into Heartless and Nobodies, it was just a temporary separation."

"Why, then? Why did you lie to them and tell them they had no hearts?" Sora yelled, and I growled, bristling furiously.

"Xemnas and Xehanort formed the Organization for a specific reason—round up a bunch of empty husks, hook them up to Kingdom Hearts, then fill them all with the exact same heart and mind. Translation—they were gonna turn all the members into Xehanort," Xigbar explained.

"Make more Xehanorts? You tricked your friends to…But you—aren't you scared of just turning into someone else?" I asked, bewildered by the information.

"Me? I'm already half Xehanort," Xigbar replied, and his yellow eyes appeared mad.

"That's nuts…" Sora breathed, shocked.

"However—through weakness of body…weakness of will…or weakness of trust—most of the original members we had chosen for the Organization were inadequate. Thus, naturally, they never had a chance to attain their goal. Yet, even this was to be expected," Xemnas said, and we scowled at him. "We have learned of the heart's folly, and we have achieved our other goals. This last excursion has proven to be a worthy closing assignment for the Organization."

"Just stop it! You treat people's hearts like their bottles on a shelf, but they're not!" we shouted at them. Sora summoned his Keyblade, making my claws glow, and Xemnas smiled. "Hearts are made of the people we meet, and how we feel about them—they're what ties us together even when we're apart! They're what…make us strong."

"Duh!" Xigbar stated, pointing at us. "You're both strong because of the ties you two have with other people. As if the Keyblade and light would choose wimps like you." Sora and I turned on Xigbar, glaring. "But no pouting. We see much bigger and better things in your future…once you side with us." He extended his hand and Sora looked at his Keyblade, sighing. I gazed at my claws with a small whimper.

"We know the Keyblade and light didn't choose us, and we don't care. We're proud to be a small part of something bigger—the people it did choose," we stated determinedly, and Xigbar gasped. "Our friends! They are our power!"

"Those are just words. You've lost," the grey-haired man said nervously. He seemed to struggle with the thought, and then added, "Fine. See where you're power gets you here. Xemnas! They're all yours."

He left, and Xemnas raised his arms, causing the pieces of the buildings behind us to rise into the air, and hence making debris fall into the chasm below. Sora readied his Keyblade, and I jumped down from his shoulder, shaking with rage, but we stood firm.

"As your flesh bears the sigil, so your names shall be known as that…of a recusant," the silver-haired man told us coldly.

Xemnas teleported several yards away and threw pieces of skyscraper at us. They crashed into the ground as Sora and I dodged neatly, and the pieces of building fell into the abyss. The silver-haired man summoned his ethereal blades and moved in to attack, and we exchanged several blows. After many successful attacks, he trapped us in an energy barrier, sending lasers in our direction. Using swift instincts, we leapt off a wall and over the barrier, when Xemnas teleported away.

"Despair shall be yours!" he yelled at us.

The older man sent a skyscraper at us, knocking us and the platform away. The brunette and I went into a dive, and, after dodging more buildings from a laughing Xemnas, landed on another fallen wall, allowing the battle to continue. Xemnas's attacks increased in ferocity until Sora and I summoned our full strength to us, dealing a finishing blow. Weakened, the silver-haired man teleported away. Sora and I breathed heavily, our bodies emitting darkness, and lay on the ground. A corridor of darkness appeared and the silver-haired youth from before emerged from it.

"You…again," I panted weakly, trembling slightly as I tried to remain conscious.

"You just make it too easy," he said. "I know you think you've won, but you lost the moment you dived this far in. You're in the deepest pit of slumber, and you've worn yourselves down to nothing. There's no returning to the world above."

"What do you mean?" Sora questioned.

"We told you," he said simply. "It was not the Sleeping Keyholes that guided you. They are not the reason you are here. You've both been on a path, one we laid out for you. That sigil on your chest is proof." He pointed to the white crossing straps on Sora's chest, forming the shape of an X.

"What?" Sora uttered, confused, and looked down at it.

"See? That sigil, the X, it tells us where you are at all times," the youth stated, and made an X-shape in the air. "You had wondered aloud before—why we kept showing up where you were. It's because we need you, Sora and Shadow. Or, to be precise, we need what will be left of you—the thirteenth dark vessels."

"Why…we…" we mumbled weakly.

"Why was it assured you could come here today? Because I followed my destined path, and I'm here looking at you both right now. You can move through time, but time itself is unmovable," he explained. Sora and my vision started to blur, and the brunette wiped at his eyes as I blinked rapidly. "Today, all of my selves throughout time were meant to gather here, and to welcome you, Sora and Shadow, as our thirteenth members." He knelt beside us. "These facts cannot be changed." A tendril of darkness crept along our arms.

"What's…gonna happen…" we started to ask.

"I have now told you both all that I know. We are all here, and what the future holds in store is beyond my sight. I will return to my own time, and grow into the man who becomes all these others," the young Xehanort informed us, and darkness covered us. "While I know this future now that I have lived it, returning to my own time will erase the memories and experiences I have gained here. Still, my appointed path is now etched in my heart, which will first lead me to seek the outside world."

"Riku…" Sora murmured.

"Kurai," I whispered weakly at the same time.

"Your hearts will sleep forever in the folds of darkness. And your bodies will be another vessel for me. So light gives way to darkness," he stated coldly. "Good night, Sora and Shadow." He reached towards us as our vision went black.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

We had woken up later on in Yen Sid's tower, and discovered Riku and Kurai were asleep. While waiting for them, Sora, Donald, and Goofy had a little tea party, I'm mortified to admit.

"Hey, Donald! Come on, you're hogging it all!" the brunette snapped at the duck.

"Aw, calm down, Sora, and drink your tea," Donald chided.

"Gawrsh, it sure is yummy!" Goofy chimed in.

"Hey!" a pair of voices barked, and Sora and I looked up quickly. My partner quickly pulled off the party hat and fake mustache glasses he was wearing and greeted Riku as I ran over to Kurai.

"Riku…You're safe! Riku!" Sora crowed as he jumped his friend, laughing.

"Thank goodness you're all right," I murmured, bumping foreheads with Kurai in a friendly gesture.

"Wait, haven't we got this backwards?" Riku asked, bewildered.

"And why are you having a tea party?" Kurai questioned with an amused expression.

"I had no part in that!" I huffed indignantly.

"You're safe, Riku!" Sora continued to say, and hugged Riku again.

"Ah, never mind. You okay? Feeling all right?" the silverette said.

"Yeah, we've never been better," we assured them as I jumped back onto Sora's shoulder. "We were watching what was going on in our dream. And we could hear your voices the whole time. Thanks, Riku and Kurai. Thanks, everybody!" Everyone smiled happily.

"Oh yeah! Did we pass the test?" my partner asked. Yen Sid nodded.

"You performed truly admirably, all four of you," he told us. Sora and Riku picked themselves up off the floor, knocking a chair over, and stood before Yen Sid as Kurai quickly climbed onto Riku's shoulder.

"More than anything, I am grateful to have you four back from Xehanort's deception unharmed," he began. "And I am grateful to Lea, whose spontaneous actions turned the tides. I am also deeply sorry, for failing to perceive the danger and throwing you headlong into a perilous test. This experience has revealed many hidden truths, and we must gird ourselves for the great clash with darkness that lies before us. I believe we need a new Keyblade Master, one with a new kind of power. Sora and Shadow, Riku and Kurai, you all deserve the honor. However, two of you braved the realm of sleep again to unlock the final Keyhole and save a friend each. Riku and Kurai, I name you as our new true Keyblade and light Masters."

"Way to go, Riku!" Sora cheered excitedly, and placed a hand on Riku's shoulder with a laugh.

"Awesome!" I chimed in, grinning at my friend.

"Y-yeah?" they stuttered, stunned.

"We knew you two were gonna pass with flying colors," we told them. "This is just so awesome!"

"Gee, Sora and Shadow, you're kinda acting like it's you that passed," Goofy pointed out, smiling.

"I told ya Sora and Shadow still needed some practice," Donald muttered.

"Hey," Sora pouted.

"What the heck!" I snapped, glaring.

"Really? I'm a Keyblade Master?" Riku murmured.

"And I'm a light master?" Kurai added. Mickey, Donald, and Goofy walked over to the four of us.

"Congratulations, Riku and Kurai!" Mickey told our friends, and shook hands with them both.

"Thank you, Mickey," they replied gratefully. "We owe it to our friends." Sora and I laughed.

"Ah, I'll catch with ya in no time flat," Lea grinned.

"What? You wanna be a Keyblade Master?" I questioned doubtfully.

"Yeah. I mean, I came here to learn how to wield one," he shrugged.

"YOU?!" Sora, Riku, Kurai, and I yelped.

"Hey, thanks for the vote of confidence," the redhead stated, rolling his eyes. "You know, I was gonna come swooping in, Keyblade in hand! But I just couldn't get mine to materialize. Must be in the snap of the wrist or something." He held his hand out to try, and a fiery Keyblade flashed into his hand, surprising all of us, even him.

"WHOA!" we all gasped.

X*X*X*X*X*X*X

Later on, Sora and I were walking out of the Mysterious Tower, being seen off by Riku, Kurai, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy.

"Do ya have to go?" Goofy asked.

"Well…we did doze off…We just have some stuff to take care of," Sora assured them.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Donald questioned.

"Yeah. We won't be long," I promised with a small smirk.

"Be careful," Mickey advised.

"Very careful," Riku and Kurai added.

"Right. See you soon," we said. Sora summoned his Keyblade, causing my claws to glow, and we unlocked the Keyhole that appeared in the sky with a beam of light. We woke up in Traverse Town and stood.

"Good. I was hoping this world was still here," the brunette smiled. "But where are they?" We looked around, but saw no one. Sora's gaze lowered to the ground, and I whined softly, but we quickly looked up when we heard a small whimper. We turned to see a Meow Wow running towards us.

"There!" I pointed, and it leapt into Sora's arms, licking him as he laughed. I chuckled as well, and then we bumped into a Kooma Panda behind us, gazing dreamily down at us. To our right, a Necho Cat pranced about, and a Komory Bat flew over to us on our left.

"Hey!" we greeted to them all as all of the Spirits we had encountered on our adventure gathered around us, squawking, chirping, roaring, and making a wide arrangement of sounds. "Thanks. You're the best."

A/N: And that's the end of this series until KH3 comes out! R&R, peeps!


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